Connection: Sol and Monado
by GengaJupite
Summary: Book one in my crossover series! Isaac falls into a strange dream where a mysterious figure confronts him. Soon after, he and the others are thrown into a new world where they must face the perils of a sinister plot. Meanwhile, Shulk enjoys the recreated world, but the return of the Monado he rid them of weighs heavily on his mind. Requires some Kingdom Hearts knowledge.
1. Falling

Hi, everybody! If you're reading this, it's likely because you've read my other Golden Sun fic _What is Happiness?_ Maybe some of you happen to be newcomers to my work, but regardless I say welcome and thank you for taking the time to check out this crossover!

This series is basically something my brain concocted because I have too much gaming knowledge in my head. I'm not trying to sound like I'm a know-it-all or something, but I wanted to mix ideas from four different games into a series of crossover stories, so this is the offspring of that brainstorm! I'm not expecting this to take off anywhere crazy – due to the randomness of games chosen, and the fact that most people may be stumped by at least one of them if – so if you find yourself getting confused, perhaps check out one of my other stories that isn't a crossover (self-advertisement win :P). That's pretty much all I have to say about that, so I guess I'll begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own any games, characters, or related terms mentioned in this story. All rights go to their respective owners.

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**Book One**

_**Connection: Sol and Monado**_

_Falling_

The ocean waters lapped against the sides of the great ship. The tranquility of the world was a peaceful substitute for the hectic scramble it had been before. A soft breeze blew by as the sun warmed the boat's crew. It felt like a long time had gone by since the crewmates had felt the world in such a calming state. After such a long and arduous journey, each person was content to laze about as they sailed south towards Angara.

Leaning against a rail on the portside of the ship, Isaac gazed out towards the landmasses in the distance. A relaxed smile was on his face as he mentally thought of being back home in Vale. He hadn't been home in so long, and it felt odd to be ending his journey; however, he was glad to say that it was finally over and that they had rescued his father and Jenna's parents in the process. He'd even managed to meet a special someone, something he had definitely not expected to do on such an important adventure. A pair of arms delicately circled around his right arm, and he felt something rest upon his shoulder. _Heh, perfect timing._

"Hey, Mia," he said casually, keeping his gaze out towards the ocean.

"Hello, Isaac," she responded, breathing out deeply as in a sigh of relief.

A silence grew between them, though not one of awkwardness. Words weren't necessary while they peacefully stared out to sea, heads leaning against one another. The sound of waves and light rocking of the ship was something that soothed and comforted both adepts in a way that some of the others were less fond of; namely the Mars adepts, Garet and Jenna. Isaac scrunched his face in thought. Perhaps it was just because they were Mars adepts, but seasickness shouldn't have anything to do with that. He spent his first time on a boat at the same time as Garet, but the Venus adept found no problems keeping his lunch. Whatever the reason, he was simply grateful that he wasn't prone to throwing up on a boat.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Mia, breaking his thought bubble.

"Oh, uh, nothing important," he said, not really wanting to share his thoughts on seasickness. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you always make a funny face when you're thinking," she giggled. "Your nose gets all scrunched up and then you kind of… I dunno, purse… no maybe it's a twist, but either way you make your lips do this weird thing."

"Oh, does it look anything like this?" he asked before giving her a kiss.

"Smooth," she said sarcastically, chuckling at his lame excuse for a kiss, though she'd still returned the gesture he noted.

As the day wore on, all of the members of the crew had gotten a chance to walk about the deck and converse with each other at some point. Piers and Felix were in charge of steering the ship, but it seemed as though they were content with the slightly lessened amount of social interaction they received from the others. Around lunchtime, Piers came down to the kitchen with an announcement.

"Hello, everyone. We're going to have to make a slight detour. Seems some rocks have inconspicuously shown up on our path towards Vale, and Felix isn't able to grind these ones down. It will take no more than a few extra days to reach home, but we will have to sail closer to Gaia Falls, so please be mindful of your steps. The waters are rough and it could be fatal if someone fell overboard."

They all murmured amongst themselves, but otherwise were unaffected by the news. Once he'd assured himself that they were prepared, Piers nodded and headed back up towards the control room. As if in response to his warning, all of the people in the room suddenly felt the boat lurch to the side, causing a few to stumble in their seats, and those standing to fall over.

"Egad!" shouted Kraden, "How close to those rocks were we?"

"Sorry!" they heard Felix shout from somewhere far above.

"Everyone alright?" asked Kyle, checking to make sure that Jenna's parents and Kraden were okay.

"Yeah, I'm good," said most of them.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Garet said groggily before darting out of the room. Jenna followed suit not long after, causing the others to chuckle at their unsettled stomachs.

Their travelling path now en route, the adepts continued going about doing whatever they felt like, mostly attempting to keep themselves occupied. There really wasn't much to do on a ship, and it had only taken them the first week of being out at sea to explain their adventure to the adults. Though it was peaceful, most of them agreed that it was rather boring on the ship.

"At least we aren't getting attacked as often," said Sheba as she and Isaac walked aimlessly on deck.

"I suppose… Call me a lunatic, but I kinda enjoy those moments when they come up on deck. It's like an adrenaline rush when I can slash through a turtle dragon's neck, y'know?"

Sheba shivered at the thought. She really wasn't one for causing a big bloody mess when it came to fighting monsters. Her choice of weapons was usually made for using psynergy or bashing them on the head. The goriest weapon she probably used was a spiked mace, but even then it didn't rip open a monster the way a sword or axe could. In her mind, she was being humane, even if they were bloodthirsty creatures with no remorse. No blood, no guts, no problem.

"I… I think I'm gonna go see what Ivan's up to," she said, dropping the subject of killing monsters.

"Alright, I guess I'll go… find something to do… if that's even possible," grumbled Isaac.

"Oh hush up, Isaac, I'm sure you'll find something to do," she said optimistically. _Even if that something is Mia_. She snickered at the thought and headed off for the crow's nest.

Climbing the ladder that led to the crow's nest was no issue for Sheba. Mia had told everyone that she was too afraid of the height, so they never put the Mercury adept on watch duty. Not that they really had to assign anyone, since Ivan spent most of his time up in the little tower. No, heights were not really something that made the young Jupiter adept quake and quiver in fear; after all, she'd had enough falling experiences that would make this look like tripping over a step. Okay, so maybe she had been too young to remember falling out of the sky as a baby, but she damn sure remembered falling from Venus lighthouse. Now _that_ was a fall.

Pulling herself up to the platform, she was instantly met with two pairs of purple eyes. Smiling back at her was Ivan, holding his hand out to help her up. They'd done this many times before, but the touch of his outstretched hand always sent shivers down her spine. She had to be careful not to think about things like that when she was around him however. It was quite likely that dwelling on the subject would make it easy for Ivan to accidentally pick up on her thoughts. Thoughts of _him._ That would be pretty embarrassing.

Unbeknownst to her, Ivan was thinking about the exact same thing. In fact, they seemed to do it every time they came to visit each other up in the crow's nest, but given that they were too preoccupied trying not to think about one another, they wouldn't have had the chance to realize that the other person was thinking about them. Talk about complex.

"What brings you up here on this fine afternoon, Sheba?" Ivan said melodiously.

She giggled at his tone. _Score one for Ivan! Oh crap, I hope she didn't hear that…_ In any case, it appeared she didn't, as she answered his question nonchalantly, "Nothing in particular, just thought I'd come look around with you. Everyone's getting kinda bored down there, especially Isaac. And to think he looked so content to stare out at the water earlier. Talk about a quick change of heart, huh."

Ivan chuckled at the thought. Isaac didn't like to think so, but he was more like Garet than the two of them cared to admit. Most people didn't notice, but it was times like these when Garet was… well, not around to make Isaac seem mature, that Ivan could see the similarities in their personalities. He wasn't expecting them to hang around each other when Garet was puking, so it only made sense that the Venus adept had so quickly run out of things to do.

"Heh, yeah, Isaac wouldn't be so bored if Garet wasn't puking his guts out. I don't know if I should say lucky for Garet that Jenna's there too, so I guess I can say at least Garet's spending time with Jenna, even if they can't exactly talk."

Sheba laughed and smacked Ivan's arm, "Ew, you're disgusting! I don't wanna hear about how much time they spend hunched over the toilet!"

That was pretty much how their conversations always carried out: Ivan joking about some harmless remark, Sheba hitting him, both laughing about nothing in particular. Meanwhile, downstairs, Mia smiled to herself as she heard the laughter from the two young Jupiter adepts. They _needed_ to get together soon. They were the only ones not paired up, though she couldn't really say that Felix and Piers were paired up, just that they were completely straight, non-gay sailing buddies. She shook her head to wipe the bizarre thoughts from her mind.

"Mia, I'm boooored!" Isaac moaned from somewhere behind her.

For the past while she'd just been playing with a couple blobs of water that she'd taken from the ocean. It wasn't particularly fun to watch or anything, but it kept her occupied when the sights and sounds got repetitive. This was one of the rare times that Isaac acted immature, because it seemed like boredom was his worst rival. She curled her lips in, trying to stifle the laughter from her boyfriend's uncharacteristic, whiny tone.

"Why don't you go see what Kraden or your father are up to? I'm sure they'd be more entertaining than me right now."

"Ugh, did you actually just say that Kraden would be more entertaining than you? I think I'd rather eat a troll's loincloth before I listen to a lecture from Kraden right now. I'm trying to _get rid_ of my boredom, not make it worse."

Trying to hold back her laughter was getting harder and harder. Isaac would probably be annoying if he wasn't so darn cute! "Well, what about your father?"

"He went to sleep. He and Jenna's parents are still exhausted from everything. Apparently turning into a giant three-headed dragon that's hell-bent on destroying everything really takes its toll on you… enough to make you sleep more than usual for the next… how long's it been? Four months?"

At that point Mia couldn't help but let her laughter burst forth. The small water blobs quivered in front of her, but they never fell to the ground. "I-Isaac, we've only been at sea for two weeks!"

"No way, it's definitely been four months! Three at least!"

She continued laughing, unable to get an entire sentence out without being interrupted by giggles. Isaac took that sign as his cue to leave. He loved her and all, but he didn't want her to have fun at his expense. Rather than sticking around to make more of a fool of himself, Isaac headed towards the control room, hoping to find something to do with Piers and Felix.

"Two weeks my ass," he grumbled as he opened the door. He scanned the room to see Felix with his hand over the Black Orb and Piers in the corner of the room reading a book. "Hey, guys."

"Isaac," Felix greeted flatly, not looking away from the ocean in front of him.

"Hello, Isaac," Piers said more enthusiastically than his Venus companion, "what brings you here?"

Isaac shrugged, "Nothing in particular, just kinda bored. I'm pretty sure I've read every book in your library and everyone's off doing their own thing."

"Ah, the ever constant problem with new sailors. If it isn't seasickness, it's boredom. When you become as travelled as I, you sort of outgrow these things." _Gee, thanks, Piers. Now will you actually give me some useful advice?_

"A-anyway, I came in here 'cause I thought there might be something to do. You don't look too busy, Piers."

"That I am not. I suppose you wish to partake in some sort of activity with me? A game or conversation of sorts?"

"If you don't mind…"

"Not at all, Isaac. I should have some cards or a chessboard around here somewhere. Just give me a moment to-"

Piers' sentence was suddenly cut off when an unexpected lurch shook the ship. This one was noticeably larger than the one earlier, causing Isaac to fall on the ground. He looked up to see what in Sol's name Felix was doing, only to see that Felix, too, had fallen to the ground. That was certainly not what he was expecting to see.

"Felix! Are you alright? What happened?!" Piers shouted as he quickly picked himself up off the ground.

"I dunno. Everything was going fine, and then I suddenly lost control."

Isaac quickly went to see if everyone else was alright, leaving the two captains alone. He looked up to the crow's nest to see Ivan and Sheba. Their eyes were wide, and they appeared to be breathing heavily, but other than being a bit shaken they seemed fine.

"You guys okay?" he shouted as he walked by the tower.

"We're fine!" Ivan shouted back from above. "What happened?"

"I dunno! Felix said he lost control for a second!"

Saying nothing else, Isaac ran towards the place where Mia had been. However, within a few steps from the crow's nest, a searing pain pierced his mind like a severe migraine. Isaac's hands shot up to the sides of his head, and he couldn't help his cries of pain as he collapsed to the ground. Something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what. All he could notice about that moment was the excruciating pain in his mind. The pain was unbearable, but without all the pain, it would have seemed like someone were reading his mind, albeit rather aggressively.

"Isaac!" shouted Sheba and Ivan, who were now descending the ladder as quickly as they could. The first person to come into his view, however, was Mia. She knelt down beside him, a look of fear in her eyes.

"Isaac, what's wrong?!" she cried, fearing to do anything without knowing the problem.

"My… uhnngh… My head… AAAAAAAAH!" he screamed as a raging pain throbbed in his mind.

Mia jumped back with a yelp, not expecting such a cry from the Venus adept. Ivan and Sheba ran up, but kept their distance when they saw him writhing around on the floor, hands gripping the sides of his head.

He could feel the sweat start to form on his head. Then everything around him went dark. He couldn't hear the voices of his companions anymore, but he hadn't been knocked out by whatever caused him to succumb to pain. In fact, he didn't even seem to be on the ship anymore. His pain was gone, but before him was nothing but darkness. He went to call out, but no sound escaped his throat. Touching his neck, he suddenly became aware of a city forming around him.

The city was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Futuristic buildings with glowing lights of some sort surrounded him. Despite the peculiar lights, the buildings were dark and ominous, giving him a feeling of unease. Before him was a very tall tower with many glowing lights. Isaac had never seen anything quite like what he was experiencing now. A big, glowing star lit up the area above the door to the building. The lights actually seemed to form words of a sort. What did they say?

_Memory's Skyscraper  
__The World that Never Was_

Uh, okay? The world that never was? Is that where he was... or never was? Was this some sort of crazy, make-believe place in his head? The building before him _was_ called Memory's Skyscraper. Perhaps this is where his memories were stored? Regardless of what this place was, he had certainly never seen it before. Some of these things baffled him, like how a building could produce so much light! There must have been millions of candles hidden behind all of the glowing panels in this place.

_Heh, skyscraper. 'Cause it's so tall it scrapes the sky…_

…This was no time to be joking. He had to figure out where he was, and how the hell he'd gotten there. More importantly, how would he get back? Isaac checked his surroundings a bit more. It just seemed like there were dark ominous buildings everywhere with more of those glowing lights. He backed up to see if there was anything beyond this 'Memory's Skyscraper'. What he wasn't expecting to see was some sort of floating castle and a giant heart-shaped Luna.

Suddenly everything went dark again until he reappeared in an extremely white room. The brightness of the room was hurting his eyes, and he shielded them for a moment before he could adjust. From what he could now see (which wasn't much since it's kind of hard to see things in an all white room), he was standing on a circular platform of sorts, surrounded by thirteen very tall chairs, though none of them seemed to be the same height. It almost looked like some sort of interrogation room. He was getting a bad feeling about this.

Well in a room like this, he could only hope that things were going to be… wait for it… all white. (Badum tss)

…Again, not the time to be joking around. A whooshing sound and the sudden appearance of… was that _black_ fire?! Seriously, he'd seen white-hot fire and blue fire, but black? _Black_?! Anyway, a large circular pillar of _black_ fire appeared in front of him, causing him to leap a few feet backwards. Then, from within the _black_ fire, a hooded figure emerged, face covered. The _black_ fire disappeared as the strange figure stepped towards Isaac. The figure stood hunched, its white-gloved hands behind it's back. They both stared at each other for a moment before a menacing voice was spoken.

"Most intriguing. It seems that in my experiments I've connected to the heart of a light."

Light? Isaac was no light source. What was that even supposed to mean? His questions were piling on, but he still found that he could not speak.

The menace chuckled. "It's no use, boy, you cannot speak here." _Way to point out the obvious, mister._ "I must admit that I am surprised by your appearance. It is clear that you are not one of my vessels, though I seem to have found some in your world."

Vessels? His own world? What was this crazy old coot talking about? Well, he assumed the man was old, judging from the sound of his voice and his hunched position. If only he could speak, but the answers, it seemed, would not be revealed at this time. Isaac glared at the hooded figure, angry that he could not demand an answer.

"Heh, you remind me of someone, boy; a failed creation of my own doing. No matter, I cannot fathom that you shall prove yourself a problem. I have doubts that we shall even meet again. Besides, I couldn't actually kill you at this time, for you are not actually here; only your heart has found its way to my abode. I suppose you are curious as to what is currently taking place. I cannot give you a full answer, but I feel that one as confused and pathetic as yourself deserves somewhat of a response."

The sinister man held up one of his arms towards Isaac, causing said Venus adept to adopt a defensive stance. He wished he had his sword with him, but it seemed as though only the clothes on his back came with him to this strange place. Still, this person, or thing, was threatening him, and he wouldn't go down without a fight. Isaac snarled, his teeth bared in an angry fashion. The figure remained with his arm outstretched, though a sinister laugh escaped him.

"Ho ho, the boy has some fight in him, does he? Unfortunate that we must end our meeting here, I'm afraid, for I would have liked to see what sort of fight you might put up. Alas, such is life, so you shall have your answer, and then you will be on your way. Your world has been connected, bound by the darkness that ties all worlds together. My search for the lights and darknesses has not been in vain it would seem. Your world has offered more than you know, and for that I thank you. Now begone!"

With the shout of his voice, the sinister man pulsed his hand, sending a dark aura flying towards Isaac. He didn't even have a moment to react, as it hit him so quickly. There was no pain, but a force pulled at him like a strong wind. Before he knew it, he was flying through darkness, the sound of wind filling his ears as the white room faded in the distance. After a few moments he thought he could hear something else: a voice.

"…saac… I… …ke up…"

Such a calming voice, it was. Peaceful, familiar, and soothing. He could almost see light. Was his vision returning? It looked quite blurry. Suddenly he could hear more voices, and it was as if his body was being shaken. He forced his eyes open, light flowing in. Hard as he tried, however, he could only open them part way.

"Isaac, wake up! Please wake up, Isaac!"

The voices were clear. He could feel the hard deck beneath him. Why were his hands on his head? Oh, the deathly pain that got him in this mess, right…

"ISAAC WAKE UP! I DIDN'T COME OUT OF THE BATHROOM TO WATCH YOU SLEEP!"

Garet's voice was enough to make him flinch. His eyes shot open, but everything was still a bit blurry. In mere moments, everything cleared, and he could see everyone standing over him, their expressions laced with concern. Though he was confused and a bit dazed, he smiled, causing them to do the same.

"You alright there, Isaac?" asked Ivan.

"Uh, yeah, I think so…" he responded, only half paying attention. "What did he mean 'connected by darkness'?"

"Huh? You dreaming, man?" asked Garet, who seemed to be doing pretty well at not letting his insides out.

"I dunno… it didn't really seem like a dream. It seemed like… something was gonna happen…"

As if on cue, the boat lurched harshly, forcing the adepts to join Isaac on the ground. Felix and Piers were quick to their feet, rushing off to the control room. The rest of them slowly picked themselves up when they realized something horrific; the ship was moving. Not moving in the forward direction, mind you, but sideways, towards the starboard side. Felix came running out of the control room shouting orders at everyone.

"Everyone get to your posts! Isaac, Mia, into the control room now! Ivan, Sheba, see if you can make anything out from the crow's nest! Jenna, Garet, open all the sails and tie down anything loose! Go, NOW!"

No one questioned his orders and soon everyone was running about the ship. Kraden and the other adults rushed up to the control room to see what all the commotion was about. Isaac was just as confused as the others, though he had made it seem like he knew what was going to happen.

"Felix, what's going on?" Mia asked fearfully when they were gathered in the control room.

"I'm not sure why, but some weird current is pulling us towards Gaia Falls! We're trying to get all the sails open so that we can pull away from that direction. Right now, all four of us have to pool our psynergy into steering the boat away!" All four of them nodded to each other and began to pour their psynergy into the Black Orb.

"Couldn't we just fly?" Kraden asked.

"It's no use," answered Piers, "we can't seem to get the boat to lift. Something's wrong here, but we need to do this now if we're going to survive."

Felix looked at Kraden, then his parents and Kyle, and then back to Kraden. "Kraden, take our parents and get into the lifeboat. I won't risk losing you."

"And you'd sacrifice yourself and lose us anyway?! I think not, young man!" shouted his mother.

"There's no time for this, Mom! Kraden, go now! I'm sorry, Mom, Dad, Kyle, but this is the only way we can do this!"

Kraden reluctantly nodded and attempted to hurry them out of the room, but not without a final remark from Kyle, "The lifeboat won't save us! If a ship this large is going down, then we will too!"

Kraden shut the door behind them, leaving the four panicked adepts to pour their psynergy into the orb. They could feel the boat slow it's pull a bit, but the current was still bringing them towards the edge of the falls. Their attempts seemed to be inevitable as the white waters drew ever closer.

"Felix, what are we going to do?" shouted Isaac.

"Damn! I thought we might be able to get away from this." The ship suddenly moved faster as Felix stopped pouring his psynergy into the ship.

"Felix, what do you think you're doing?!" cried Piers. "We have to use all our energy if we're going to get away from this!"

"It's hopeless, Piers! There's something wrong here! The only thing we can do is help Kraden and our parents get away!"

Felix reached his hand over the orb again, but the ship didn't slow. This confused the other adepts, as he was clearly putting a lot of effort into whatever it was he was doing.

"What are you saying, Felix…" Mia asked fearfully.

"There's no use in trying to save ourselves. This boat's too big for us to get out of here. The least we can do is get Kraden and the adults away. We can easily get a small boat like that out of this current, but we will definitely not get away…"

"So… it's everyone's doom, or their survival…" said Isaac, wondering how his mother and father would react to such a rash decision.

"I'm sorry, Isaac. We've no other choice…"

Mia and Piers stumbled as the boat lurched and moved more quickly. They both stared incredulously at Isaac as he transferred his psynergy from the ship to the lifeboat. The Mercury adepts went to protest, but saw the futility with their own eyes. If the four of them couldn't stop a simple current, then there was no way only the two of them could either. Whispering 'forgive me's to Kraden and the others, the ship lurched again, heading full speed towards the edge of the falls. From outside, the small lifeboat dropped into the water and sped away from the edge with surprising velocity.

"I wish it didn't have to end this way," muttered Felix. "Forgive me, everyone."

Isaac held Mia close as the ship came dangerously close to the edge. Garet, Jenna, Ivan, and Sheba burst into the control room, fearful of being outside to face their inevitable dooms. Felix and Piers stood strong, waiting for the doom they were faced with. All the others held onto their respective partners, saying their goodbyes and sharing in their final moments.

And just like that, the ship reached the edge and toppled over, the screams of all adepts accompanying it as it plunged into the vast unknown…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

Fallen Arm was the perfect place for a morning workout. What better way to go for a run away from old square-tache than on a sunny beach far away from Colony 9? He, Reyn, would have to thank Miqol for so generously flying him out of there on Junks. He did, however, feel bad that he hadn't told Sharla he was going to be gone for the morning. He should've at least left a note. Ah well, it wasn't like she'd do anything _too_ painful.

Slowing down to a brisk walk, the redheaded lancer took a moment to look at his surroundings. Scraps of mechon bits were still laid around everywhere, and a few mechon were still walking around, too. Luckily, they seemed to avoid things that were stronger than them, something he was proud to say he was. Still, it didn't hurt to keep his trusty lance by his side, even if it did weigh a ton; it made for a better workout.

"Oi, izzat what I think it is?" Reyn said aloud as he took notice of something in the distance.

From where he was standing he couldn't be sure, but it looked as though there was someone lying in the sand on the other side of the beach. Of course, there was quite a bit of rubbish scattered about, so for all he knew it could be a piece of scrap metal or some kind of mechon debris. Meh, he shrugged; it couldn't hurt to check. He was stronger than anything out here (not to boast; just a reminder), so he had no fear of being attacked.

As the Colony 9 soldier got closer, however, his brisk walk broke into a run when he realized that it was, in fact, a person lying in the sand. As if the sight of an unconscious stranger lying in the sand wasn't odd enough, the kid (though he definitely looked around the same age as himself) was completely alone with no traces of injury or indication of how he'd wound up there. No footprints in the sand showed that he had walked, or if a monster or mechon had left him there. He couldn't have swum from somewhere because the Mechonis' poisonous fluids would have killed him before he reached the shore. And ever since the world had been restored to it's original form, there no longer was a Bionis or Mechonis that this guy could have fallen from. Sure there were still landmasses from where the titans had been, but the actual titans themselves were gone, leaving all the landmarks and cities laid out across a vast, relatively flat land.

Not quite sure what to do, Reyn flipped the boy over onto his back. No use leaving him to breathe in all that sand, eh? To be honest, the guy's clothes looked… primitive, and his weapon looked ancient. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. The actual guy, on the other hand, was nothing special. He looked about seventeen or eighteen with soft facial features and spiky hair. Other than the hair and… knight clothing (since Reyn had no better word for it), the guy kind of resembled Shulk, if only slightly. After examining him for a moment or two, the stranger began to stir, groaning a bit like someone who didn't want to be waked.

"Uh…" Reyn said dumbly. What were you supposed to say to a random guy you found on the beach in the middle of nowhere? "You, uh… you alright?"

The stranger rubbed at his eyes and squinted upwards, clearly confused by where he was. Hell, he'd be damned if this guy knew where he was. Who the hell falls asleep face down in the sand on a giant, mechon-infested, severed arm? Sitting up, the stranger squinted his eyes at Reyn, apparently still adjusting to the brightness.

"G-Garet? Where are we?" the boy spoke shakily.

Huh? He must've been mistaking him for someone he knew. Guy had better be handsome to look like this stud. "Garet? I ain't no Garet, stranger. The name's Reyn."

The stranger rubbed his eyes again and took another moment to look him over. Oh yeah, Reyn was hot enough that even guys would check him out. Not that he wanted them to or anything…

"Oh, uh, sorry. You look a lot like my friend…" _I'd like to meet this friend. He probably can't compete with this, but we'll see._ "I'm Isaac."

"Isaac, huh? Alright, Isaac, I don't suppose you know how you got here, do ya?" he asked, rolling his right shoulder. Why was it always so tense?

"Um… kind of? Where exactly is… here?" he asked, looking around at the apparently unfamiliar surroundings.

"You're all the way out on Fallen Arm. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere. I can take you back to town if you want. It's not too far from here."

Isaac looked baffled. Reyn couldn't say he was surprised to see such an expression on the stranger's face. After all, this guy looked more lost than a bunniv on Valak Mountain.

"Fallen… Arm? That's… that's kind of a weird name… Am I still in Weyard?"

Now it was Reyn's turn to be confused. Weyard? What the hell was that, some kind of messed up way to say weird? Well, judging from the confusion of this guy, it didn't seem too farfetched for a guy like this to come for a place that sounded so… Weyard (Badum tss).

"Uh, I dunno of any place called Weyard… You're at the battle site of where the titans, Mechonis and Bionis fought; well, that is when they still existed. This is the Mechonis' arm, hence the name Fallen Arm. And this doesn't look like it's making any sense to you, so why don't I just take you back to the town. I'll have Linada take a look at you, and we'll fly back to Colony 9. Sound good to you?"

"I… I guess," the stranger muttered. Reyn couldn't blame the guy for sounding so unsure. Obviously he wasn't from around here, so it only made sense that he'd be overwhelmed by his surroundings.

Helping the guy to his feet, he noticed Isaac's eyes go wide at the sight of a small mechon flying by. Reyn had to stop himself from laughing at the stranger's odd behaviour. If he thought that thing was crazy, just wait until he saw the big guys.

"What was that?!"

"That," he said, pointing at the fleeing machine, "was a Mechon M37 Worker Bee Unit. They're pretty weak and don't really like to fight. Never seen a mechon before?"

"M-mechon? But it was just a metal… thing! How did it move like it was alive?"

Now Reyn was stumped. He was no engineer, so he had no idea how all these mechanical doodads and whatnot worked. To him, they worked, they did their job, and they moved on, same as any machine these days. Where was Shulk when you needed him? Why was this guy curious about that, anyway? Little mechon like that were probably some of the simpler things around, especially in a place like Fallen Arm where there were Machina living just over in the hidden village. Then again, this guy probably didn't know what a machine person was. Judging from his reaction to the little mechon, he didn't even know what a _machine _was.

"Look, let's just get you to the village. I don't know where you came from or what you're doing here, but it doesn't look like you meant to wind up unconscious in the middle of nowhere. Sounds like there's a lot of stuff you don't really know about, so why don't you save the questions for later? Shulk's probably better for answering them, anyhow."

"…Okay…" he answered, sounding defeated. It was a little depressing to see this guy looking so down, but Reyn realized that it would probably be better not to delve into it. After all, he didn't really know this guy, and his problems would probably just confuse the daylights out of him, so it seemed best to leave it at that.

"So, uh, Isaac, what's with the getup?"

"Getup? You mean my armour? Is there something wrong with it? Everyone else with me had something similar…"

"Everyone… else? I didn't see no people with you."

Isaac looked around, but cast his gaze back downwards while they walked towards the hidden village. Apparently he'd gotten separated when he mysteriously wound up on the shores of Fallen Arm. Man, it was not gonna be easy to find people in a place as vast as this. Then again, they'd probably stick out like a sore thumb if they wore clothes similar to Isaac's.

"Y'know what, let's just drop it. We can save the talking for later," Reyn suggested, trying to make sure that no more awkward silences occurred. Isaac nodded his head silently, and the two continued on their way to Junks.

Though neither of them knew it yet, this was probably the least surprising of the events that were about to unfold for them.

* * *

Whew, didn't expect the chapter to be so long, and I definitely didn't think that the intro would seem so random :P. Also wasn't planning on having random bits of weird humour every now and then, but I don't think the few people that read this will mind.

Anyway, if there are actually people out there reading this, please take the time to review! I always appreciate feedback, and I'd be grateful to confirm that there are actually people taking somewhat of an interest in this.

If you're confused by Isaac's amazement by the modern buildings and such of The World That Never Was then you probably forgot that he's from a time period where electricity doesn't exist and buildings are all hand-crafted. Hopefully that explains his skyscraper moment and odd explanations of the neon signs. I tried to have Reyn elaborate on that fact a bit, but just in case you didn't get the subtle indications.

Also, I'm hoping to become a composer of game music in the future, so I'd appreciate if you guys checked out my soundcloud (link on my profile). I'll admit, the stuff that I've uploaded isn't great, but I'm hoping to grow as a composer as time goes on.

Thanks for checking this out! I'll probably update my other projects more regularly, but this one won't be ignored, I assure you!

_-GengaJupite_


	2. Searching

Well, it's been about two weeks so I'd say now's a good a time as any to update this! I'm actually surprised that this story got ten views lol. I'm grateful for anyone who checked it out, and hopefully it will still get the odd view and visitor every now and then. Maybe a review if I'm lucky? *nudges readers*

Thanks to **CruelRuin** for reviewing! Hah, well if you don't get around to playing Xenoblade, at least read up on it a bit so that you aren't completely in the dark! This isn't like WiH where everything is from one person's POV, so you might get confused unless you know a little bit. I don't want to discourage you from reading this, but the plot will start getting more to do with Xenoblade and Kingdom Hearts later on. GS will still be important, but I'd suggest learning at least a little about the other two. And to think that I'm not even introducing Radiant Historia in this first book lol.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Searching_

The ground was soft and wet. The sound of wind blowing through the grass was calming and comfortable. Garet wanted to wake up, but his eyes felt like they would not open. He could smell the rocky scent of cliffs around him. It must have been about midday, for the sun shone down on his tightly shut eyes, making everything appear red. Using all his might, the spiky redhead forced his eyes open and brought his arm up to block out the sun.

He glanced around at his surroundings. Sure enough, a grassy plain was laid around him, but he seemed to be surrounded by some sort of circle of cliffs. The wet sand beneath him dropped into a large pond with some sort of large metal… he couldn't even say what it was, only that it was made of metal.

The flame user was glad to find that he was uninjured, though how he had survived a fall off the edge of the world without injury was beyond him. It then occurred to him that he was alive, and that somewhere existed at the bottom of Gaia Falls! But then something else struck his mind. Where was everyone? The sound of shifting water to his right caught his attention.

"Mia!" he shouted, scrambling over to the Mercury adept.

"Garet?" she said groggily, rubbing her eyes before sitting up. "Are… are we alive?"

"Heh, truth be told, I have no idea, but the assumption is yes."

"Oh… where are we?" She seemed very tired, and almost seemed as though she didn't realize that they had just wound up in a strange new place. Garet couldn't blame her; he was feeling one hundred percent either.

"No clue. Last thing I remember was tumbling over the side of Gaia Falls. Now we're waking up in some weird place with no way of knowing how we got here."

Mia's eyes shot open at his last statement. "Oh my gosh, Garet! Where is everyone?! Why are we the only ones here?!"

It hadn't dawned on him, but Mia was right, they were the only two in this odd place. Frantically they began running around the immediate area, calling for their lost companions and looking anywhere where they may have wound up. As they were running around, Garet stopped at the mouth of a cave.

"Mia! There's a cave over here!" he called to her. She quickly came running into view at his words.

The two of them cautiously entered the cave, brandishing their weapons in case any monsters showed up. There was no knowing if this place would be home to any beasts of unknown sorts. However, they soon realized that the cave was extremely small and empty. Well, empty in the sense that there were no inhabitants, but it looked as though it had once been used as a camp of sorts. A few bedrolls lined the ground in the 'rooms' of the cave, and torches lined the walls. Some empty boxes lay around, looking as though their contents had been emptied long ago.

"Do you think they stayed here and left us?" Mia asked nervously.

"No, they would never do that," Garet reassured her. "I know that Isaac would never leave you behind, and I hope Jenna wouldn't leave me."

"Oh, Garet, don't say that, Jenna would never just leave you like that!" she giggled. Garet was always good for a laugh when things were hard for them.

The two of them stopped when they heard a woman's voice spouting random angry things. The voice was distant, and clearly coming from outside the cave, but it was getting louder. They both stepped towards the entrance to peek out at who might be coming.

"Ooooh, that Reyn! I came all the way to Colony 9 and he wasn't even there! I may be a doctor but he is so in for it when I get my hands on him!"

"Yeesh, she sounds angry," Garet whispered to Mia.

"No kidding. Shouldn't we ask her for help though?" Mia whispered back.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt, given that we won't get anywhere by standing around here."

The two of them emerged from the cave entrance to speak with the angry woman. However, upon noticing the two of them, she instantly charged at Garet and began hurling punches at him.

"YAAAAH! You stupid, idiotic, muscle-brained, good-for-nothing excuse for a soldier! Do you have any idea how long it takes to walk to Colony 9?!"

"Ow, hey, lady, I have, ow, no idea what you're, cripes, talking about!" Garet shouted, attempting to shield himself from the punches. Mia simply stood stunned, though she had to hold back her giggles.

"Don't play stupid with me, Reyn! And who's this other woman you're with?!" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Mia while still attacking him.

"What?! I'm not, ouch, Reyn! I don't, yow, know of any Reyn! My, take it easy, name's Garet!"

At this, the woman stopped attacking him and took a moment to look him over. Then, as if she hadn't realized at first, her hands flew up to her mouth and she gasped loudly.

"Omigosh, I'm so sorry! You look just like my boyfriend!"

_Merciful Sol, this is how she treats her boyfriend?!_ Garet thought to himself, though Mia had the same thoughts running through her head. _I'd hate to see how she treats her enemies!_

"Uh, don't worry about it," he shrugged. He winced slightly and examined a gash on his arm. Huh, he'd been so worried earlier that he hadn't even noticed it.

"You're hurt? Here hold still for one second," said the woman before she pulled out what appeared to be a hand-sized cannon and pointed it right at him.

"WHAT, ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Garet cried as he held up his arms.

Mia screamed and ducked when the supposedly crazy woman pulled the trigger of her weapon. Much to her surprise, however, Garet did not fall over in pain. She stood up straight and realized that his nasty cut had actually healed! What manner of sorcery is this?! Why would such a devastating weapon heal Garet? Only staves and healing psynergies could perform such acts, couldn't they?

"Oh, sorry 'bout that scare. I probably should've warned you that that was a Heal Bullet. One of my specialties with this gun," the crazy lady chuckled before strapping the 'gun' on her back. "My name's Sharla."

"I… I, uh, well I already said that I'm Garet. This is Mia," Garet said, staring incredulously at the closed wound that Sharla had just shot at.

Mia nodded and took a moment to examine their new companion. This Sharla woman looked to be a few years older than them. She had beautiful, long black hair and a well-toned body. Her clothes were a bit too revealing for the Imilian's taste, but the look seemed to suit this woman well. However, more than anything she was interested in the weapon. Were such amazing contraptions common in this strange place they were in?

Sharla, meanwhile, also took this time to size up her new companions. Garet did in fact look very much like Reyn; however, she must have been too hasty in her attack, for she could see now that if she had looked at him a bit closer it would have been easy to distinguish him from Reyn. The boy had spiky red hair that seemed to stand on end above his head. He wore some odd-looking tunic and carried a large sword and axe on his back.

The girl, Mia, seemed very gentle and serene, quite the opposite impression she'd gotten from her bulky companion. Blue hair was the first thing the gunner noticed about her, but the blue almost seemed natural. Homs didn't have naturally blue hair though, did they? In any case, this girl was wearing some sort of medieval dress of sorts with a robe over top of it. She carried a simplistic staff, though a devastating mace hung by her side. Just who were these people?

"Excuse my asking," Sharla said after a few moments of awkward silence, "but where are you two from? You certainly don't look like you came from Colony 9 or 6, and no one has lived in this refugee camp for quite some time now."

The two looked at each other, blinked, and turned back to Sharla before Mia spoke. "Colony…9? And Colony 6? What are those? I come from the northern town of Imil, and Garet is from the village of Vale."

The medic stared at them blankly. Imil? Vale? She'd certainly never heard of those places before. There was no way that the new landmasses that appeared when Zanza was destroyed could have created a whole new civilization, could they? In any case, how would these two have gotten all the way here in such a short time?

"Uh, sorry, I'm not sure I know those places," she shrugged, scratching her head.

"I see," said Mia, turning away to look at their surroundings again.

"If you don't mind my asking," said Garet, "where exactly are we?"

"Oh, you're just off the path from Gaur Plains!" said Sharla. "This place served as a refugee camp when Colony 6 was destroyed by the mechon. It used to be on the Bionis' leg, but technically the Bionis and Mechonis don't exist anymore, so it's just known as Gaur Plains."

She took their odd stares and confused looks as a sign that they had no idea what she was talking about. She could only sigh in defeat. How was she supposed to help these people if they didn't know what she was talking about?

"Garet," Mia mumbled, though loud enough for Sharla to hear, "we should probably look for the others. I'm afraid that something may have happened to them."

"I know, Mia, I am too, but we can't just go running off searching for them. We have no idea where we are, and it would do no good to get lost searching for them."

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but it seems like there's some trouble here. Anything I can do to help?" Sharla asked, though she was a bit skeptical of the two strangers before her.

"Well, we had six others with us, but it seems that we must have gotten separated at some point," said Garet.

"But we couldn't possibly ask you to help us! You must be terribly busy," said Mia.

"Actually, I'm not busy at all today. I was _supposed_ to go see that good-for-nothing Reyn, but he decided to go on a little trip on the day I was coming to visit without telling me. Besides, from the look of it, you two won't get far without someone who knows the area. C'mon, I'll contact my brother and he can come pick us up in his buggy!"

The two adepts watched as she called someone she called 'Juju' on a little device and asked him to pick them up. They had never seen such ingenious contraptions before, but how they worked, neither of them could say. Within the next twenty minutes, a roaring sound was heard from the path out of the cliffs before a small boy with shoulder-length brown hair stepped out of some strange vehicle, the likes of which they'd never imagined.

"Sharla!" he called, waving his hands. She motioned for the two of them to follow her towards the vehicle.

"Juju, this is Garet and Mia," she said, gesturing to them, "I'd like to take them to Colony 9, if you can get us there. I was thinking I would take them to Otharon, but it might be a better idea if Shulk meets with them. They seem to have a lot of questions, and they're looking for some friends. I figured the best place to start would be with Mr. Monado himself."

"Well, I can't drive this through Tephra Cave, so you'll have to figure that out on your own. I can get you as far as there though, so hop in and we'll take off!"

This buggy, unlike Juju's first, had enough seats to accommodate a few people. Sharla hopped into the spot beside him and waited for the adepts to do the same. They seemed nervous about approaching such a simple buggy, and cautiously stepped into the backseats. Once they were securely in their spots, Juju roared the engine and took off down the hill.

Mia couldn't stop a light squeal escape her lips, for the buggy moved much faster than she was expecting. She looked over to see Garet gripping as tightly as he could to whatever he could reach. Sharla chuckled at the sight of them. She knew they weren't from around here, but wasn't expecting such a reaction out of them. Looking at the speedometer, Juju was actually driving relatively slowly, going only about fifty km/h.

"Sharla!" Juju shouted suddenly. "Arduns on the right!"

She looked to her side of the cart to see a large pack of arduns charging right towards them. She didn't have a clue what riled them up, but she knew that she couldn't hold off a pack of this size on her own. She had to try though, for Juju wouldn't be able to outmaneuver this many arduns.

She fired a few Metal Blasts at the beasts, severely wounding them, but not slowing them down in the slightest. If anything, they seemed angrier and were now running quicker despite their injuries. A few Thunder Bullets took the ones at the front down, but they were quickly replaced by the next few in the herd.

"Damn! I can't hold them all off!" she grunted, quickly cooling off her rifle. "You two!" she shouted to the passengers in the back. "I know you have weapons on you! If those beasts get too close to the buggy I'm going to need your help fending them off!"

The two of them looked at each other, then at the monsters, and then at Sharla before nodding.

"Don't worry about it, Sharla," Garet pounded his fists together, "leave these monsters to us!"

"Are you crazy?! I can't possibly let all of these things get that close to us!"

"Heh, watch and learn. You ready, Mia?"

"Let's do this, Garet!"

"Light 'em up!" he shouted before releasing a massive Heat Wave upon the unsuspecting creatures.

Sharla's jaw nearly dropped to the ground at what she just witnessed. Even Juju took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at the huge blast of fire that launched towards the arduns. Neither of them could react at all as they watched fireballs fly out of Garet's hands. Though Sharla had taken Mia for a frail girl, the Imilian was certainly impressing her as well with her display of icicles raining down hell upon the creatures. Within a single minute, the few arduns that survived fled in terror of their new opponents. Garet and Mia grinned at each other before sitting forward again.

"Why didn't you say you could control the ether?! I would have left that battle to you at the start!" Sharla exclaimed, still amazed by the displays of fire and ice she'd just witnessed.

"Ether?" asked Mia. "What's ether? We were just using our psynergy."

"Wait," said Garet before Sharla could respond, "how did you see any of that? Non-adepts can't see psynergy. Are you an adept as well?"

"An adept?" Sharla questioned, now getting confused. "What's an adept? And what's this 'psynergy' you're talking about? Your powers definitely looked like you had control over the ether! You must be high entia!"

None of this conversation seemed to be making sense to either party. Sharla had no idea what psynergy or adepts were, and Garet and Mia had no idea what ether or high entia were. Everyone was giving each other strange looks until Juju eventually stopped in front of a small cliff.

"Okay, you guys, Tephra Cave is just down there," he said, pointing to the opening below them.

"Thanks, Juju," Sharla said, ruffling his hair, "I'll try to be home by tonight."

"I can take care of myself, sis."

"'Course you can. Now stay out of trouble!" she laughed as the three passengers hopped out of the buggy.

Once he was out of view, Sharla led the way down a climbable rock wall. Leading them into the tunnel, she constantly glanced back at them to make sure they were doing alright. Surprisingly enough, they seemed undeterred by the dark nature of the cave. Were these two used to exploring odd places? Regardless, they eventually came to areas that were lit up by glowing plants or the springs.

"Well, here we are!" she said when they finally reached the end of the tunnel. "Down there is Colony 9. I'm gonna take you to one of the smartest men I know. He'll know how to find your friends!"

Mia and Garet gazed in amazement at the city, or 'Colony' as Sharla kept calling it, down below. It was made completely of metal and stone, and they had never seen anything quite like it. The sleek design of the architecture gave it a very futuristic look, and this place they'd wound up in never ceased to amaze their unaccustomed eyes.

And so the three of them set out down the path towards the Colony, unaware that another would already be waiting when they got there…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"She's… she's gone… They're all gone… I'm all alone again," Ivan murmured to himself, curled in a ball by the edge of a swamp.

He had no idea how he'd gotten to this place, but there was no sign of anyone else when he'd awoken several hours ago. He'd spent most of his time wandering, calling out their names as he wandered aimlessly through the marsh, until he finally tired at the base of an incredible statue. Along the way he'd had to fight many monsters that he'd never seen before. Most of them seemed vulnerable to psynergy, so he used his powers quite liberally. It was odd, but he didn't feel his powers draining at any point, despite the extensive use of spells he'd been casting.

It wasn't the predicament of being lost that pained him, but the fact that he couldn't find Sheba, especially after what had happened on the ship. After fearing that their lives would end as they toppled endlessly over the edge of Gaia Falls, the two young Jupiter adepts took their last moments to admit their feelings for each other. He never thought that he would wake up in a strange new place, however; especially not alone without a trace of how he'd ended up there at all.

"What's that?" he said aloud, jumping to his feet as some sort of elevator descended near him. It seemed to lead to the top of the statue, which was already incredibly tall as it was, so perhaps he could look for his friends from that high place. He had no idea how large this swamp was, so it was possible that he may have just missed them. Thinking that a possibility, he quickly stepped onto the elevator and was carried to the top.

Ivan sighed as he realized the futility of his search. After looking from the top of the statue for the past hour or so, he came to the conclusion that his friends could not be there. He sadly turned and started for the cave for which the elevator was probably implied to lead one to. There was no point in sticking around here if his companions weren't. If he could just find a town or a person or something then he might be able to determine where they could be.

The wind user was met with the odd interior of the deceased Bionis. Despite the fact that the titan was dead, the route leading from Satorl Marsh to Makna Forest still took one through the passageway inside the titan. The strange glowing plant-like structures still remained, ever lighting the way to the other side. Ivan followed the seemingly one-way tunnel until he could see a dead end with a lake.

"Now what do I do…" he grumbled, approaching the green water.

"Friend have trouble?" sounded an oddly high-pitched voice.

"Wha- Who goes there?!" Ivan shouted, readying his staff and brandishing his rapier.

"Ah! Hom-hom no hurt nopon, pleeeeaaase!" cried the ridiculous voice.

Ivan then noticed a strange furry ball quivering in fear at his feet. Not knowing what it was, he lightly kicked it over. Much to his surprise, the ball burst open, revealing a face and wings for ears. It had tiny stubs for arms and legs, but it used its wing-ear-arm things to hold onto some sort of item pouch.

"Oh, sorry," said Ivan, sheathing his blade. He was about to turn back when the fuzzball said something to him.

"Friend need get through tunnel?"

"Uh, sort of," he responded, turning back towards the creature. "Do you know how to get through?"

"Yes, haha! See bubbles in water? Friend swim out to bubbles and up he fly! Water carry friend up to ledge and he walk out of tunnel to nopon home!"

For the most part, Ivan understood what the furry thing was saying, though the thought of swimming in that nasty-looking water wasn't exactly what he wanted to do. Then again, he'd already waded through the marsh, so how much worse could it be to swim in this? With a sigh, he slowly walked towards the water's edge before wading into the shallows.

"You're sure this will work?"

"Oh, yes! Me see bigger hom-hom than you go up, up, up very high!"

Having no other choice than to rely on this thing, Ivan swam out to an area where the water was bubbling. It was slightly warmer here than in other parts of the water, and the idea of flight suddenly pieced itself in Ivan's mind.

"Wait, this is a geyser!" he cried.

"Heehee, bye-bye!" laughed the fuzzball.

It was too late to swim away as the heated waters shot Ivan up through an opening in the ceiling. The splashing water muffled his screams, and he soon found himself falling forward as the geyser fell back down. However, he was surprised to hit solid ground with a thud. Brushing some dirt off his tunic, he looked behind him to see that the geyser had pushed him forward into a tunnel much higher up. Seeing only one way to go, he followed the tunnel out into the bright sunlight.

He definitely wasn't expecting to be greeted by a snowy mountain when he reached the outside of the tunnel, so it's a good thing that he wasn't. The hot jungles of Makna Forest were already causing sweat to form on the Jupiter adept's forehead, and he quickly stuffed his extra layers of clothing into his pack. As he made his way down the path, the sight of another furball bouncing around met him.

"Hi-yaa! Heropon Riki smash monster into ground!" it shouted as it started laying a beatdown on what appeared to be a giant caterpillar.

"Um, excuse me," started Ivan after the thing was finished beating up the caterpillar.

"Hmm? Oh, hom-hom friend! What Riki do for friend?" it asked.

"I, uh, I was hoping I might find a village or something around here. I'm looking for my friends. Have you seen any more… people like me pass through?"

"Oh no, Riki no see any more hom-homs come this way. Riki take friend to nopon village if friend wants to go there!"

"Nopon village? Is that what you are: a nopon?"

"Heh, hom-hom is no smart! Riki not just any nopon; Riki is Heropon! Help save world with Shulk!"

"I see," Ivan chuckled. "Well, I'm lucky to have found you. So you'll take me to this 'nopon village'?"

"Oh yes, Riki show friend the way!" he said, waddling towards a bridge.

"Thanks. I'm Ivan, by the way."

"Nice to meet Ivan! Riki's name Riki!"

Ivan chuckled and shook Riki's wing. They crossed the bridge and began following a worn path that indicated others had been this way many times. Lush jungle all around was a new sight for Ivan. He'd never seen such a tropical place, though it was not nearly as spectacular to view as some of the mechanical sights experienced by his friends.

"Careful, Ivan," Riki said, stopping in place and holding a wing out to stop Ivan.

The Jupiter adept had been so preoccupied by his surroundings that he didn't even notice the large lion-like creature prowling in front of them. Two more emerged from the bushes, sniffing for something. The two companions stood frozen still as the monsters prowled around. Then, without warning, they all shot their gaze up to the two of them and snarled angrily.

"Riki," Ivan said, slowly bringing his hand to his rapier, "I think we're going to have to fight these things."

"Hah! Makna Feris no problem for Heropon Riki!" and with that, Riki flew at the monsters, grabbing his small weapon and smashing the creatures left and right.

The Jupiter adept stared in amazement as he watched the small furball annihilate the large lion-like creatures. He was certain he would have to help, but after several moments, the creatures lay dead around the small, innocently smiling nopon. Riki simply laughed and beckoned Ivan to follow him. Ivan never even had to relinquish his blade, and so he let go of the handle before running after Riki.

"That was incredible, Riki!" Ivan cheered him on.

"Hah! You doubt Heropon's strength?"

"I did, but I don't think I will again."

"Good, Riki no want to have to show friend hard way!"

The thought of being beaten down by a furball with a chomping weapon not only sounded painful, but awfully humiliating. Ivan made a mental note never to get on Riki's bad side. Nothing good would come from being defeated by a little ball of fuzz was not the way he wanted to go out.

And so the two of them continued through the jungle, talking of many things and fighting numerous monsters along the way. The original four had officially begun their search for each other.

* * *

I was actually going to include Sheba or Felix's awakenings in this chapter as well, but figured that I should probably just leave it at these three. I didn't want to spring too many events in one chapter, and I figured that it might work better this way.

Anyway, if you're reading this, please take a moment to review and check out my soundcloud!

_-GengaJupite_


	3. Found

Despite the fact that I'm taking my time between updates on this story, I'm actually having fun thinking up scenarios for different things in this. It's funny to actually imagine GS people in the XC universe, not only because they're vastly different, but because the idea is just amusing in general. Maybe it's just me, but I think that it'd be awesome if Camelot and Monolithsoft teamed up for a game; it wouldn't even have to be a crossover, just if they teamed up to make something! I'd say Square Enix and Atlus should team up with them too, but they aren't solely Nintendo-affiliated companies, so it probably wouldn't happen…

Anyway, I'm surprised to have gotten a fav/follower, but grateful nonetheless! Thanks to **CruelRuin** for reviewing! And geez, you're pretty set for this crossover series if you've played all of those! Diverse gaming is awesome, but it's hard to find other people who've played all the same games as me, so good on you for playing most of them… :P

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Found_

Sheba groaned as she stirred from her unconsciousness. She wasn't in any sort of pain, but her body ached as if she'd been exercising all day. Her eyes remained shut as she tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep. It took her a moment to remember what happened, but she remained calm, keeping her eyes shut. The smell of the ocean and the sound of squawking gulls above confirmed that she was still out at sea. Perhaps falling over the edge of Gaia Falls had been a dream. Maybe she'd fallen out of the crow's nest when the boat rocked and gotten knocked unconscious. That would explain her body aches. She smiled, happy to know that it was all just a nightmare.

However, she noticed something odd that forced her to open her eyes. The ground was much too soft to be the wooden deck, but a bit grainy to be her bed on the ship. Sheba slowly opened her eyes to look at her surroundings, and gasped in shock. The ship, not to mention any of the other crewmembers, was nowhere to be seen, and she was lying on a beach hidden away in some sort of roofless cave.

She went to stand, but another oddity forced her gaze towards her hands and feet. Both sets of limbs were bound together by a few algae-covered ropes. As much as the young Jupiter adept squirmed to get her hands free, the ropes were tied much too tightly to have a chance at escape. Having only Jupiter djinn set to her, she could not cast Slash, and so the only way to escape would be to find something sharp enough to cut her bonds with.

The sound of a quiet, high-pitched muttering stole her attention though. Sheba stole a glance to her right to see a couple of small, hooded creatures conversing amongst themselves while staring at her. Had they done this to her? Perhaps they'd just happened to stumble upon her now while her true captives were off somewhere else. It never hurt to try…

"Hello?" she called, hoping they might understand her. "Um, can you help me?"

The creatures jumped at the sound of her voice and quickly scurried out of sight.

"No, wait! Please, I just want to know what's going on!"

There came no response, and she sat alone for a few minutes before sighing and collapsing onto her back. Oh, this was hopeless! She had no idea where she was, where anyone else was, or why she was there. Her body ached, she was tied up, and worse, she just realized that she and Ivan actually _had_ told each other how they felt. As embarrassing as it was to know that he knew she liked him, she had also discovered that he felt the same way about her! If she knew where he was, or if he was even alive, everything would be great right now.

She quickly jumped back into a sitting position as the ground beneath her shook. Something big was near, for the ground shook periodically in a rhythm that indicated the steps of a large being. Great, as if things weren't bad enough already…

A deafening roar shook the immediate area, and she cringed as she looked in the direction of the sound. Dozens more of those little creatures came running from there; were they being pursued by some monster? No, it looked as though they were running at her… Oh gods, they _are _running at her!

The little creatures lifted her up and presented her like she was some sort of meal. Well, considering the roar of that creature, perhaps she was intended to be a sacrifice of some sort… _Oh, I never thought it would end this way._ A few moments later, a large green creature stomped its way around the corner of the opening. It's hungry gaze landed on her as it roared again and quickened its pace towards her. Helpless to do anything, Sheba went with her last resort.

She screamed as loudly as she could.

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"It must have landed around here somewhere…" Melia thought aloud to herself.

"My lady, if I may ask, why hold such interest in a common meteor?" asked the pilot.

"I do not know exactly, but this one was particularly interesting in its size. I have never seen a meteor to be so large in all my years of being here."

The pilot shrugged and continued flying the small aircraft over the western region of Eryth Sea. The other night, Melia had been peacefully observing the beautiful meteor shower over the glowing sea from Syrath Lighthouse. Though meteor showers are rather common to this region of the world, she'd never once seen a meteor as large as the one that fell last night! Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the Bionis' head was no longer any higher up than any other parts of the land, but wouldn't that only make the meteorites smaller? Either way, it was likely that it had simply crashed into the sea, only to wind up somewhere in Makna Forest, and it was probably just a very large rock.

The sound of a piercing scream split the air as the aircraft flew over the Hode Refuge. Before Melia even had to tell him what to do, the pilot was quick to descend the ship towards the beach on the island. The hodes hadn't been causing as much trouble as of late, but they still warranted some watching. Once landed, the two of them jumped out of the ship and ran into the island, only to be met with the sight of a small, blonde girl being offered up as a meal to a Pulse Orluga.

Without thinking, Melia quickly unleashed a wind attack at the creatures before realizing that she might hurt her target. However, she watched as the girl seemed unfazed by the attack that sent the hodes and orluga flying. The pilot ran in, jabbing at the creatures with his spear as she aimed – more carefully – some attacks away from the girl. Eventually, the creatures that survived dispersed, and Melia was quick to unbind the girl.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Y-yes, I would've helped you if my hands weren't tied."

"Do not trouble yourself. We were not doing anything of particular importance. What is your name?"

"Oh, I'm Sheba."

"Sheba, it is my pleasure. I am Melia Antiqua, Empress of Alcamoth."

"E-empress?" squeaked Sheba before turning pale and bowing down. "Omigosh! F-forgive me, your highness! I had no idea!"

Melia chuckled a bit. This was more or less the response she had expected from the girl. "Your apologies are not necessary, Sheba. If I am being honest, I do not mind being spoken to in an informal manner. I grew quite accustomed to such means of communication during my travels."

Sheba shakily rose to her feet and gave Melia a warm smile. Now that Melia could see the girl standing, she had the chance to observe her. Her clothing seemed rather peasant-like, but had somewhat of a regal bearing to it. She had brown boots and a white dress-like tunic, with a purple scarf that doubled as a cape. Sheba's hair was oddly round, but her piercing green eyes made up for the oddity. Overall, she looked like she could have been from Colony 6.

"What's Colony 6?" she asked, catching Melia off-guard.

"How did- I did not say anything of the place!" Melia responded in a confused manner.

"Oh gosh, I'm really sorry," Sheba apologized, though Melia still had no clue what she was talking about or why she'd somehow brought that up. "I, um, probably shouldn't have voiced that out loud…"

"Well, perhaps it was only a strange coincidence. After all, it isn't like you could have-"

"Read your mind?" Sheba cut her off. "Um, you probably wouldn't believe it if I told you that I could. In fact, I can tell right now that you don't believe me… Hey, I am not crazy! You may be an empress, but that doesn't make it any less rude to think that about me! …I just told you how I could tell what you were thinking!"

Melia stood with her mouth slightly agape as if she was going to say something, but no words came out. She hadn't said one word, and yet Sheba had responded to every thought that had crossed her mind as if she were speaking it out loud. It couldn't be possible to read someone's mind, no power like that existed, did it? Was this girl some sort of ether-bender as well?

"This power does so exist! I don't know what this ether is, but all I'm doing is tapping into my psynergy. Ivan can do it as well."

So others could do it as well? That was rather… unnerving. "Um, Sheba, if you do not mind, perhaps you could stay out of my thoughts…" That sounded just as strange as it had in her head.

"Oh, sorry! I forget sometimes that people don't like when we do that… I was actually just trying to find out where I am."

"You do not know? Did the hodes kidnap you in your sleep perchance?"

"What? No… er, maybe they did, I'm not really sure how I wound up here in the first place. The last thing I remember was the ship that my friends and I were on toppled over the edge of the world and, well, then I just woke up with my hands and feet tied up…"

Melia stood awkwardly silent for a moment. Fell over… the edge of the world? As far as she knew, there was no edge of the world! Even when Bionis and Mechonis stood tall, they stood on an endless waterscape that made up the world. And even if she fell over the edge, why would she suddenly be back on it?

"Er, Sheba? Where did you say you came from?"

"I didn't, but our ship crashed over the Great Western Sea. I… I don't know where I originally come from, but I was raised in Lalivero."

"Lal… Lalivero?"

"Yes, my adoptive father, Faran, says that I fell out of the sky one day, like a magical meteor. When he went to find out what it was, he discovered a baby, me, in the crash site of the meteor. Sounds weird, but I'm not really sure what else I can believe at this point."

After hearing that story, Melia felt a strange headache coming on. These things all seemed to make… too much sense! Sheba fell from some unknown world and landed in this 'Lalivero' where she was raised like a regular girl. Then suddenly she falls out of her current world, arriving in this one as a meteor, just like she had as a baby, and giving Melia a reason to have gone looking for the larger meteor, which actually turned out to be the girl standing in front of her!

"I… I think I need to process this some more," she said, rubbing her temples. "Would you like to come back to Alcamoth with us, Sheba? I can offer you some hospitality while we try to sort out… your situation."

"Um, well, if it's no problem with you, then I'll gladly come along."

Melia smiled slightly to her new companion. "Alright, follow me then. Our ship will take you back to the city."

"Ship? How far away is this place?"

"Nearly the other side of the sea. Why do you ask?"

"The other side of the sea?! Won't that take a long time to get to?!"

"Er… not particularly, no."

Sheba lost herself in thought, trying to imagine how it could take such a short time to cross an entire sea in a short time. Perhaps this Melia girl was accustomed to travelling across seas, so long journeys meant nothing to her. As they stepped out into the more open area, Sheba nearly fainted at what she saw. Up in the sky were not only clouds, but large floating islands in the air! After seeing many strange things on her journey across Weyard, she never thought that anything could surprise her, but was she ever wrong! Looking to the direction that Melia was heading, she tilted her head in confusion when she saw a man standing beside a strange metal… thing!

"What is that, empress?"

"Please, you may call me Melia. And that," she indicated by pointing to the vehicle, "is the ship we'll be using to get back."

Sheba looked at it again as if Melia were joking. The thing hardly looked like it was meant for sailing, and it wasn't even in the water! She was beginning to question if this girl was sane or not.

Once onboard the… 'ship', Sheba took her seat and was told to buckle in. An extendable strap beside her pulled over her lap and chest, clicking into a slot on the other side. How ingenious! It certainly made her feel safer.

"Everybody good?" asked the pilot, earning nods from both girls. "Then let's be off!"

Sheba tightly gripped the bars on either side of her as the craft rose and took off at a speed she hadn't thought possible. Wherever she was, it certainly wasn't Weyard…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

Dunban was out for his daily morning exercises. Colony 9 had become a rather bustling city, so he liked to get most of his activities done in the morning while people were still sleeping. On this particular morning, Fiora, who sometimes liked to come along, joined him. The two were pretty much finished, walking casually along the beach.

"You know, Fiora," started Dunban, "I still can't get over how successfully you recovered from getting your body back. Six months seems like no time at all to have a fully functioning body!"

"This again, Dunban?" she replied to her brother. "How long do you think it'll take you to get over it?"

"Heh," he chuckled, "probably forever. I almost lost you, Fiora. You have no idea what it was like to see you make it through all the hardships."

"I do though! You always say things like this and I always have to remind you of when you came back from the battle at Sword Valley!"

He sighed. They had had this conversation many times, and it always ended on the same note. "I suppose you're right. Still, I…"

"Dunban?" asked Fiora after he trailed off his sentence. He didn't seem to notice though, only staring straight ahead at something. She followed his gaze and gasped at what she saw. Without a word, the two of them quickly rushed over to the two figures lying in the sand a few metres ahead.

"They're alive," Dunban said, pressing his fingers to each person's neck to check for a pulse.

"Do you think they were attacked?" asked Fiora, checking for any signs of wounds.

"No, they seem relatively unharmed… It's strange; why would they be unconscious out here without any injuries? I can't imagine they decided to sleep out under the stars."

The boy with long brown hair began to stir, so the two of them stepped back to give him some room. They watched as he rubbed his eyes, and looked around groggily. Then, as if in realization of something, he shot up into a sitting position and shook the girl with reddish-brown hair beside him. It seemed he hadn't even noticed Dunban and Fiora watching him.

"Mm, Felix?" croaked the girl as she rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," he answered back. "We're not dead though, and I have no idea where we are…"

"Oh… where's everyone else?"

"I wish I knew. I literally woke up about ten seconds ago."

"Um, are you two okay?" Fiora asked.

Both of the strangers shot looks at her, apparently neither having realized that she or Dunban was there.

"Who are you?" the boy asked darkly. "And where are we?"

"Whoa, now, easy there," Dunban said, taking a step in front of Fiora. "We don't want any trouble; we just found you here now."

The boy still stayed on the defensive however. "That doesn't answer either of my questions."

"Felix, calm down," the girl said, gripping his shoulder.

"You're in Colony 9, which is on what used to be the Bionis' foot," Fiora answered for him.

"Why were you out here?" asked Dunban.

"I wish I knew," sighed the boy, easing the tension. "Sorry if I came off aggressive; I've been trained to keep my guard up in unknown situations."

"Understandable, given that you seem to be a warrior of sorts," Dunban shrugged, gesturing to the large broadsword resting beside him. "What are your names?"

"Felix," said the boy, getting to his feet and sliding the sword back into a scabbard on his waist.

"I'm his sister, Jenna," said the girl, also getting to her feet with the help of a staff.

"Well met, Felix and Jenna. I am Dunban and this is my sister, Fiora. You mentioned there were others with you."

"Yeah," said Jenna, "four other guys and two other girls. Have you seen anyone else lying around out here?"

"No," answered Fiora. "Your friends… they wouldn't have left you, would they?"

"I highly doubt it," said Felix. "We don't exactly know where we are, so it would've been best to stick together if they'd also wound up here."

"You've never heard of Colony 9?"

"No. We come from a village called Vale. I'll spare you the details for now, but I have a feeling that you won't know where we're from due to the… circumstances of our arrival."

Both pairs of siblings shrugged, none other than Felix quite understanding what he meant by that. They spent several more minutes asking questions back and forth, ending on Felix and Jenna actually taking notice of the great stone and metal structures that made up most of the colony. Jenna was flipping out over it, but Felix was rather neutral. Perhaps that was just his character.

"If you'd like," said Dunban, "you're welcome to stay at our home. It seems you need to set some things straight before you go searching for you friends."

"Thank you, Dunban," said Felix, "that's very kind of you. I'd also like to meet this Shulk you mentioned. You said he might be able to help us, correct?"

"Yes, though I can't guarantee it. He usually has some sort of solution to our issues, so I'd suggest we meet with him as soon as you're able."

"I can take you to him whenever," Fiora said happily. "He'll usually stop what he's doing to see me for a bit!"

Dunban chuckled a bit, shaking his head while muttering "hopeless."

"Heehee, you could learn something from Dunban, Felix," Jenna giggled.

"If it means approving of Garet, he'll have to work for it," Felix replied flatly.

The four of them made their way up to the Commercial District, since Dunban's house seemed to be the only one not located in the Residential District. Once they were comfortably settled around the kitchen table, they continued with some of the conversations they'd been having from earlier. Felix decided that he would wait to explain the meaning behind his words once they could all meet with Shulk. Their discussion went into the afternoon until a knock at the door stole Fiora's attention as she went to answer it.

"Hey, Fiora, I- oops, I didn't realize you had company."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sharla. It looks like you've got some yourself. What's up?"

"Well, other than travelling back and forth between colonies all morning because of that stupid Reyn, I helped these two out. They say they're not from around here, but I figured it'd be best if I took them to see Shulk."

"That's funny, Dunban and I met these two this morning and we were gonna take them to Shulk too! We found them unconscious by the beach this morning, and we helped them out as much as we could."

"That sounds just like what happened with these two. You don't think… Hey, guys! Are these some of the people you've been looking for?"

Fiora backed up to let the two strangers poke their heads in through the doorway. They certainly made a colourful bunch of people, what with the Reyn lookalike and the… blue-haired girl…

"Jenna! Felix!" both of them cried as they saw the two sitting at the table.

Said siblings were quick to jump at the sounds of their voices and a happy reunion soon ensued. The introductions played out rather smoothly and everyone seemed in higher spirits. Sharla and Fiora chuckled a bit watching Felix grumble over Jenna and Garet kissing.

"Well, now that we've established that all of us were going to the same place," Dunban said once things settled down a bit, "why don't we head over to Shulk's place now?"

All of the company nodded in agreement, and the seven of them made their way to their new destination.

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"Why… why is this here again?! It's been nearly a year since I got rid of it! I thought that when I made that final decree it was supposed to disappear forever!"

Shulk sat in his lab, pacing back and forth while he stared at the newest addition to his inventions: The True Monado. In truth, it had appeared nearly a month ago, but he'd hidden it away to keep the others from asking questions. It was supposed to disappear when he made his sole godly wish. Alvis even told him that they would see a brighter future, set by those who made it themselves, so why had the Monado returned?!

It was a hopeless question though. Shulk had to keep it a secret so that the others didn't think he'd kept it for selfish reasons; meaning that he couldn't ask anyone else why it may have returned. If Alvis still existed somewhere, then he would have the answer for him, but the world was returned to its original state, thus making Alvis no more than a simple computer program floating in space somewhere. The fact that the Monado even _existed_ anymore was beyond comprehension! If Alvis was Monado, wouldn't that make the sword non-existent in the original world?

Even for a genius engineer, these ponderings were starting to hurt Shulk's head. He had enough to worry about in his own life anyway, being nineteen and all. People often forgot that he was still a teenager, given his lifestyle and dedication to the defense force. He and Reyn were probably the youngest people affiliated with it, in truth.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs caught Shulk's attention, so he quickly threw a sheet over the Monado and stashed it in the corner amongst his other inventions. People were respectful enough to leave his things alone until he was finished tinkering with them. A knock on the door and the sound of many voices was what he heard as he pretended to go back to working something at his desk.

"Come in!" he called.

The door opened, and he looked up to see Dunban, Fiora, and Sharla walk in with four other strangers. A rattling from the covered Monado caused him to hold his breath for a moment, but he breathed out when it subsided near-instantaneously.

"Shulk, I hope you don't mind, we brought some guests!" said Fiora, taking a seat beside him.

"Oh, uh, not at all," he said standing up to introduce himself. "I'm Shulk."

The four adepts introduced themselves, each shaking his hand as they did so. Oddly enough, he was reminded of each of his own friends when seeing these others. Though they didn't seem like it on the outside, he felt like Mia and Sharla were somewhat similar, as were Jenna and Fiora. Dunban and Felix actually shared a striking resemblance, though Felix was clearly about his age, not Dunban's. He had to stifle a chuckle as he shook Garet's hand. It was almost like being introduced to his own best friend!

"So, I assume you all came here for a reason," Shulk said casually. "What can I do for you?"

"Well," said Jenna, "we were hoping you might be able to help us locate our other friends… and if you knew a way for all of us to get home…"

"Er, you need to… get home?"

"Felix," Dunban interrupted, "I think now may be the best time for you to share what you meant earlier."

The Venus adept nodded and began his explanation. "Well, as I'm sure we've all figured out by now, none of us come from the same place, which by that I mean we may not even be of the same worlds."

A few murmurs went around, and Shulk once again eyed the Monado nervously, somehow linking its reappearance to this strange occurrence.

"You've spoken of your world being made of the remains of some titans or something," Felix continued, "and that you, along with some others, had to travel across these titans to stop the recreation of everything or something, correct? Well, our world has never heard of any such tales, giving me the impression that we do not come from the same places. Your world seems to be an endless one, but ours was actually shrinking, dying due to the lack of life energy."

"During our own adventure, our group of eight had to travel across our world, Weyard, to do somewhat the opposite of your task, in that we had to release alchemy upon the world, bringing it back to life. From what I've heard, our world runs on the power of alchemy and psynergy, while yours is made up of some sort of power called ether. Regardless, these things seem parallel enough."

"Anyway, as we were heading home from the end of our journey, a companion of ours, Isaac, fell into a trance-like dream state. When he woke up, he spoke of something about connected worlds, but none of us knew what he meant at the time. A strange current suddenly pulled our ship over the edge of our world, and now I believe that we ended up in yours instead of dying because of something that had to do with what Isaac saw. I'm not exactly sure why we were all separated, but I don't exactly know how world-jumping works."

Everyone took a while to process Felix's theory. Other than the parts that he himself didn't know about, such as Isaac's dream, it seemed as though everything in his hypothesis made sense. Though it was hard for some of the Bionis residents to understand how one could be pulled over the edge of the world, they had to agree that these four had to have come here by some rather unusual circumstances.

"I'm… I'm a little flustered right now," Shulk answered truthfully. "I mean, if what you're saying is true, this might be more than I'm capable of handling. Trying to find your friends seems simple enough, but the thought of world-jumping is… well, I can't really say absurd, but I don't know what else to say it is!"

"It may seem weird, but it's the only solution I could come up with," said Felix.

"Oi, Shulk, you in?!" a voice from the hallway shouted, followed by some loud stomps down the stairs.

"And now's my chance to beat the hell out of him!" Sharla said maniacally, heading into the hallway.

The sounds of shouting and some rather unpleasant hits followed once she'd disappeared through the doorway. After about five minutes of solid beatings, all was silent. Sharla walked back in with a very bruised Reyn in tow.

"Whoa, Dunban," Reyn exclaimed, ignoring his injuries and looking at all the strangers in the room, "there's two o' you! Oi, waitaminnit! There's two o' me too! Where'd you guys find all these lookalikes?!"

"Yep, he's definitely Garet's doppelganger," Jenna giggled to Mia.

"Oh, by the way, I brought a stranger too! Hope you don't mind a crowded lab, Shulk."

All of the Weyardians gasped as their other leader walked in, grinning as he noticed them.

Unfortunately, the moment didn't last long as the Monado whirred into action and sent out some electrical currents that knocked out both Isaac and Shulk…

* * *

I wanted to make this longer, but I figured that this was probably the best place to stop. Initially, I was going to have everyone get knocked out at the end, but I figured that it would be a little more suspenseful if it were just those two. Either way, it would've made sense, but you won't understand until the story progresses some more :)

Anyway, I know there's only a few people reading this, but I'd be super grateful if you guys could review! It doesn't take too much time or effort to leave a thought, so please, if you can spare your opinion on a chapter or the story as a whole, that'd be great!

So, yeah, review and check out my soundcloud!

_-GengaJupite_


	4. Setting Out

Well, it's been about a month since I updated this, so I figured I should get back with it :P. No reviews to respond to so I'll just get to it.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Setting Out_

"Isaac!" Mia cried, shaking her unconscious boyfriend in fear. "Isaac, please wake up!"

Just a few feet away, Fiora was doing the exact same thing. "Shulk! Shulk, snap out of it!"

While each party helped the leader of their respective world's group, Dunban and Felix both stepped towards the source of electricity that had knocked them out. The sheet had been slightly cast off from the hilt, and Dunban immediately recognized the neon blue glow of the blade's handle.

"It can't be…" he muttered, seemingly too shocked to move.

"What? What's wrong?" Felix asked, reaching to remove the sheet. Dunban was quick to grab Felix's wrist, however, and forced him away from the glowing sword.

"You can't touch it," Dunban stated flatly. "It answers only to Shulk, and it could easily kill you if you cannot handle the sheer power behind it."

"It doesn't look like Shulk could handle it either," said Felix, glancing back at both of the unconscious men on the ground. "What exactly are we looking at?"

"This here," Dunban began, using a metal rod to carefully toss the sheet aside, "is the Monado. The one true Monado."

All residents of Bionis gasped and shot their wide eyes towards the uncovered sword in the corner of the room. The Weyardians also looked, but did not comprehend what it was they were meant to be looking at. To them, it looked like nothing more than an intricate sword with a strange symbol glowing in a circular part of the blade.

"Er, not to sound stupid," said Garet, "but what's a Monado and why did it knock both of them out?"

Dunban glanced at both groups, figuring that it would be best if he explained. "The Monado is the weapon of gods that has the ability to manipulate ether. There were once three Monados, but two were lost with the corrupt god Zanza, and Shulk supposedly cast this one away when he made his own godly decree."

"Wait," Jenna interrupted, "are you saying that Shulk is… is a god?!"

"Not exactly," Dunban continued. "Shulk was the vessel for which Zanza used to reunite himself with the Monado. To him, Shulk was just an empty husk, but he proved to be much more than that. When the time came to face Zanza, Shulk summoned the true Monado and struck down Zanza, effectively becoming a god, himself, in the process. However, he didn't wish to be a god, and so he made a decree that the world would shape its own future without the use of gods or Monados. It gets a bit confusing to describe exactly what the Monado is, but rest assured the restoration of our world should have denied the very existence of this blade."

"That's… a lot to take in, and I'm not sure I completely understand," Felix stated, striking a thinker's pose. "Why would the blade be denied existence in this new world?"

"Ah, as I said, this is quite confusing to explain," Dunban mused. "The Monado, according to Shulk's description, is nothing more than a computer program floating around in a space station. It took on the personified form of a man we once knew as Alvis. When Shulk reset the world, Alvis also reverted to his original form and resorbed the three blades, one of which sits before you now. What doesn't make sense is that if the program is now just floating in space, how can the blade be here at all?"

Everyone cast him a confused expression, though the adepts seemed much more confused overall. Space stations? Computer programs? These were all things that they had never heard of before. How could something man-made exist in space? What was a computer? Was it one of these strange contraptions in this room they were in? Kraden would probably die from pure giddiness if he were here with them right now. However, none of them were very concerned with the idea of Kraden being here. Most were still trying to focus on Isaac and Shulk, who showed no signs of stirring from their unconsciousness. Mia attempted to heal both of them, but neither showed signs of change. Neither seemed hurt and both were breathing, but they would not wake no matter what anyone tried.

"Is it safe to stay here?" Mia asked, giving up on her attempt at healing both leaders. "I mean, with that thing here, we could be knocked out too, right?"

"I doubt it," Dunban answered flatly, carefully rewrapping the blade before lifting it himself. "If the Monado had so chosen to react on us, it would have done so at the same time it acted upon Shulk and Isaac."

"Then what do we do?" asked Sharla. "We can't just stay here, it could hit them again if they wake up!"

"Hmm," Dunban stopped to think. "You make a good point, but I don't feel like it's a smart move to leave it here without someone to keep an eye on it. I propose we go to Alcamoth. Since Alvis resided there in his human form, perhaps he has returned there once again."

"But," Garet interrupted, "what about our missing friends? We still have to find them!"

The adepts nodded in agreement, worried expressions on their faces as they pondered what could have happened to the youngest members of their group. Ivan and Sheba could easily take care of themselves, but this new world was likely not a very welcome place to them.

"Your worried, I get it," Reyn answered enthusiastically. "Hell, we spent most of our adventure just trying to look for Fiora! But that don't mean we're givin' up on findin' your friends. Dunban's right, though. We need help, and the sooner we get help, the sooner Shulk'll be able to find your friends. I'm sure Melia can help us, and if in doubt, we can always go see Riki."

"I suppose," Mia said sadly, looking down at Isaac to brush a hair from his face. "Where is this place we need to get to, and how long will it take to get there?"

"Alcamoth?" Dunban mused. "Mm, if Miqol is willing to take us on Junks, then it should only take us a couple hours at most."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the parties agreed to head on their path to the capital of Bionis. Reyn and Garet each carried their respective, unconscious party leaders as the group of ten quickly made their way to Junks.

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"Riki, is this… your home?" Ivan asked, staring up in amazement at the gigantic treehouse structure.

"Not just Riki's home! This home for all nopon!" Riki cheered, waddling along the bridge that led to the main entrance.

Ivan was cautious with his steps. The wooden structures certainly seemed sturdy enough, but if they were only built to maintain the weight of these little furballs, well, he could easily go crashing through a weak floorboard or something. Thankfully he didn't, but the sight of the wooden stairways and bridges inside the enormous tree went dizzyingly high.

"What Ivan need from village?" Riki asked, stealing the Jupiter adept's attention from the tall structures.

"Huh? Oh, right, I was thinking that maybe some of my friends might be here," Ivan answered flatly. "But now that I see this village… it doesn't seem like the sort of place they might have ended up."

"Why Ivan say that?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly, but… it doesn't look like there are any people like me here. I figure they'd be easy to spot in a place filled with nopon, right?"

"Mm, maybe, but Riki think Ivan should talk to Dunga! Dunga nopon chief! He know if friends come here!"

"I guess that would be a good idea," Ivan responded, casting his gaze upwards. "So, uh, where do you think we can find Chief Dunga?"

"Heh, Ivan is afraid of heights?" Riki guffawed.

"Not really," he answered flatly. "My friends and I have been to enough high places that this tree seems relatively… well, I wouldn't say short, but it certainly seems climbable."

"Ha, good! Riki show you way to prophecy hut! Dunga go there when not at home. Home and prophecy hut at top of village!"

"Of course they are," Ivan muttered as the two began to ascend the steps.

The path led them along many rickety wooden bridges and platforms, and Ivan was extra careful to watch each step he took. Because these were designed for knee-high creatures, all the railings and such only reached up to about his shins. He was just glad that most of the bridges were right up next to the bark of the tree. He needed something to support himself on the shaky bridges, and only Jupiter knows if he would survive a fall from such a great height!

"Ivan, we no go that way," Riki said suddenly, pulling Ivan towards a bridge that crossed right over the centre of the tree. Ivan nervously looked down to see nopon dots scurrying around the bottom floor.

"Uh, Riki? I'm not sure if I feel okay walking over this bridge. Why can't we just take that one? I can see that both of these lead to the same platform anyway."

"Heh, Riki is embarrassed," Riki stated, flapping his wings so that he was at eye level with Ivan. "Riki's house up that way. Riki supposed to bring back food for wifeypon and littlepons. They always wanting food, but Riki finds Ivan lost and decides to help him instead of getting food."

Does everything associated with nopon have to end with 'pon'? Regardless, Ivan found himself rather surprised to hear that Riki was both a husband and father of supposedly more than one child.

"Uh, Riki," Ivan stuttered a bit, "if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"Heh, Riki no mind. Riki soon be forty-one years old! Have twelve littlepon to feed!"

Ivan was once again shocked by what Riki had said. Not only was this furball nearly three times as old as him, but he had twelve kids?! That certainly didn't seem like a fun life. Hopefully Sheba would only want one or two…

Now why that thought crossed his mind was a mystery, but he felt his cheeks burn at the notion that he and Sheba may someday wed and have children. Doing his best to hide the red from his face, he quickly responded to Riki.

"I understand. I guess I'm okay with going over this bridge."

Slowly and shakily, they crossed the treacherous bridge. Riki was sure to keep an eye on Ivan. If need be, he would be able to catch Ivan if he fell, but he very much hoped that it would not be necessary. Not only would it be quite difficult to pull Ivan up if he toppled over the bridge, but it would likely attract a lot of attention. It made sense that Oka and all of their children would see him back in the village with a stranger but no food. That was something he would like to avoid at all costs, so whenever Ivan looked as though he were about to stumble. Riki held out a wing to steady his companion.

After a stressful few minutes, the two of them had reached the other side and took a short break before ascending the next flight of steps. For the most part, it appeared that they were almost to the top and that the rest of the paths, save the final few would be right up against the wall.

"Do you really think Chief Dunga will know where my friends are?" Ivan asked as they made their way up past the chief's residence and towards the prophecy hut.

"Me no sure," Riki responded plainly. "But Dunga see prophecies. Maybe help Ivan to find people he looking for, yes?"

Shrugging in response, Ivan continued his slow ascent up the rickety bridge. When they finally reached the top, he noticed a small hut in the centre of a platform. Ivan made sure not to look down, out of fear that he might pass out and fall. Though this tree was nowhere near as tall as the lighthouses were, those had also had quite a bit more standing room, and generally the party had never walked too close to the edges.

"Riki," a voice proclaimed. It sounded much older and deeper than all the other nopon voices Ivan had heard since being in this strange world. "I see you have brought another hom-hom with you."

"Yeah, but this one not Shulk or friends! This friend different hom-hom!" Riki said cheerfully, lightly nudging Ivan forward.

"Uh, pleased to meet you, sir," Ivan said respectfully. "Riki here told me that you might be able to help me locate my friends."

"You've lost your friends you say?" he responded. Ivan was somewhat glad that the chief seemed not to speak in the form of broken speech that the other nopon did. "I cannot say if I will be able to find them, but your plight interests me. I have foreseen something that may be related to this."

Ivan cast Dunga a puzzled glance as the chief turned around and waddled back into his hut. Slowly pacing after him, he stopped just outside the doorway to see the nopon chief hum something incomprehensible while waving his arms around in a strange fashion. The lights from the entire frontier village appeared to flicker as Dunga's incantations became more aggressive and intense. Then, without warning, he stopped, the lights returned to normal, and he turned back around to face Ivan and Riki.

"Oh yes, you are most definitely related to these strange events," Dunga stated mysteriously.

Ivan shifted a bit uncomfortably as an eerie silence grew between them. "Uh, not to sound rude or anything, but what exactly is it that you're talking about?"

"Ah, so you are unaware," Dunga sighed, "I might have known. Well, it seems as though a rift has open in the fabrics of time and space. I am unsure as to why this has happened, but you and your companions were sent through the rift when it opened."

"That… would make sense as to why I don't understand anything here," Ivan said sadly, looking around at his surroundings. The idea that he had just world-jumped didn't seem to faze him with his growing worry.

"Yes, yes; however, there must be some reason you were all sent here," Dunga continued. "It would appear as though a great number of other strange occurrences have begun in our world as well. I cannot give the answers you seek unfortunately. You must take your search to Alcamoth. Riki, can I count on you to bring this man there?"

"Heehee, yeah! Heropon always help friends!" Riki shouted enthusiastically.

"Thank you for your help, sir," Ivan said gratefully to Dunga. "You've been of great assistance to me."

"Yes, now on with you! The time is nigh that you must be arriving in Alcamoth!" Dunga proclaimed. "Riki, take him to Empress Melia. All will make sense when you are there."

"Yay! Get to see Melly again!" Riki bounced excitedly. "Come, Ivan! We go to city of bird people!"

And with that, Ivan was rushed to the exit closest to the prophecy hut. Once outside, the two of them hurried up the staircase. Much to Ivan's joy, it was wider and much sturdier than any of the structures actually inside the tree. Once at the peak, Ivan was met with an odd sight: a lake atop the gigantic tree. Other than this lake, however, Ivan could see nothing else.

"Uh, why are we up here, Riki?" Ivan asked, thinking they had reached a dead end.

"Lake shoot us up into Eryth Sea!" Riki stated as if it were obvious.

Eryth Sea? Not only had Ivan never heard of such a place, but how could this lake possibly take them into the sea? It was clearly nowhere near any other bodies of water, being on top of a tree and all, and from the view he was getting, there didn't seem to be any large bodies of water around here at all!

"How exactly will we get to the sea from here? I didn't even see anything bigger than this lake around," Ivan asked Riki skeptically.

"Ivan ask too many questions!" Riki whined impatiently. "Eryth Sea up there!" he exclaimed as he pointed a wing up to the sky.

Now Ivan was even more confused. Was Riki… all there in the head? How could a sea be up in the sky? Surely even a strange world like this could not have a sea in the direction Riki was pointing!

While he mused away, Riki grabbed onto Ivan's wrist and dragged him to the edge of the pier. Nodding to the female nopon guide, Riki noticed Ivan's arm go limp as a great pillar of water shot upwards into the sky, seemingly going on forever. A sphere of water appeared near the bottom of the geyser.

"R-Riki? What's going on?" Ivan asked incredulously.

"We go to Eryth Seeeeaaaa!" Riki cheered, suddenly dragging Ivan into the sphere of water. Before he could react or do anything, Ivan found himself flying upwards with the geyser, straight into the sky…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"Are you sure it's alright for me to be here?" Sheba asked as she gazed around in amazement at the intricate interior of the palace.

"Of course it is alright," Melia responded, stopping on the lit platform and turning around to face Sheba. "You are my guest in this court; therefore you need not worry about intrusion."

"I-I guess," Sheba returned shakily. "I just… You seem awfully friendly towards a stranger who has no clue how she ended up here."

"I suppose I see no harm in treating you in a respectable manner," Melia soothed Sheba's concern away. "You do not seem threatening, and your abilities have certainly garnered my interest."

"A-Abilities? Oh, you mean my mind-reading," Sheba stuttered.

"Not only that, but you seemed rather undeterred by the powerful wind attack I used to free you from the hodes. You were neither hurt by my rather rash attack, nor were you surprised to see the conjuring of elementals from my hands!"

"I guess I just figured you were an adept or something. They're not very common, but I've seen enough in my day," Sheba answered flatly.

"An adept? I have certainly never heard of such a term. The ability to control ether is reserved for the high entia and, to a certain extent, the nopon races."

"…Sorry," Sheba responded after a pause, "but I really have no idea what any of that means. Adepts are people who can control psynergy, like me."

"You have elemental powers similar to mine?" Melia questioned.

"Well, sort of. You seem to be able to control an entire host of elements, but mine are specific to Jupiter."

"Jupiter?"

"Sorry, wind elements." It was going to take some time to getting used to people like her not understanding the terms.

"Perhaps… you could demonstrate some of these powers?" Melia said with uncertainty.

"Oh," Sheba said in slight surprise. "Er, I'd be happy to show you, but while we're inside this dome thing that your city is covered by, I can only use my mind abilities."

"Ah, of course," Melia answered understandingly, "let us make our way back outside. Then you may show me… oh drat!"

"What is it?"

"I appear to have misplaced my bracelet," Melia responded, calmly beginning to glance around at the floor. Her servants also began scouring the immediate area, but it appeared as though none were successful in their search.

"Is it important to you?" Sheba inquired patiently.

"Quite," Melia responded. "It was given to me by my father when I was a young girl. It is one of my last keepsakes to remember him by."

"Ah, give me a moment," Sheba said, much to Melia's confusion.

All eyes in the throne room fell on Sheba as she suddenly closed her eyes and emitted a light purple glow. A few gasps went around, but everyone else was silent as they all stared at the young Jupiter adept concentrating. In truth, Sheba didn't need them to be silent for her to use psynergy, but it was no problem with her if they decided not to speak.

Without a word, Sheba reopened her eyes, and the purple glow from her body faded away. She glanced left and right to reacquaint herself with her surroundings before stepping towards the exit from the audience chamber. Everyone present eyed her with confused looks as she stepped down a few stairs, bent down, and picked something up off of the ground.

"Is this the bracelet?" Sheba asked, returning to where Melia was standing and delicately holding out a simplistic yet elegant bracelet.

"Y-Yes," Melia stuttered, still in awe of what she had just witnessed. "How did you-"

"Just one of my mind abilities," Sheba answered before she could finish her question. "Now did you still want to see that demonstration of my elemental powers?"

"I… I…" Melia said in a dumbfounded manner. She wasn't usually one to lose her composure, but what she had just witnessed was quite incredible, even to someone like her who had seen nearly everything there was to see in this world. "Yes, let us be on our way."

"After you," Sheba giggled, following slightly behind Melia.

The two of them walked out to the underside of the city where a great number of transporters were. Though they had been the only two planning to take part in this, a few of Melia's retainers had also stealthily crept away from their posts to watch Sheba perform more of her abilities. Even the guards stationed outside kept a watch on the empress and her odd guest.

"So, you're sure this is alright?" Sheba inquired. "I… I don't want something to get destroyed or anything…"

"Sheba, it is fine," Melia reassured her. "As long as you do not concentrate your powers too close to any of the structures around here, it will be acceptable. There is a great number of open spaces around this area!"

"If you say so," Sheba responded, turning away from Melia and stepping towards the edge of the platform.

She could feel the eyes of all the strange, winged people on her as she gathered her thoughts. Oddly enough, she felt none of her psynergy draining away as she began to concentrate her mind on conjuring up a simple twister. Was it because this world had no psynergy? But wouldn't that force her to use hers sparingly? No, perhaps it was that 'ether' stuff Melia had mentioned. It seemed to be in limitless amounts around here. Whatever the reason, Sheba felt an enormous amount of power growing within her as she focused her mind. Then, in an instant, she unleashed all her built-up power, emitting a bright purple glow from her body.

"**TEMPEST!"** she cried, summoning forth a great tornado.

She nearly gasped at the sight before her. Sheba had never conjured up such a massive whirlwind of unending destruction, but there it was before her, wreaking havoc on the, thankfully, empty space below. The huge funnel cloud stretched all the way from the sky and swirled down to the waters below, rupturing the peaceful surface of the sea. She glanced back to see all her spectators with their jaws dropped open in amazement. Grinning she turned back to her destructive tornado and decided it had existed for long enough. However, she wasn't going to let it go down without a bang. Quickly summoning forth another stockpile of psynergy, she cried out to the heavens again.

"**SPARK PLASMA!"**

Countless bolts of pure electricity shot down and split the tornado in multiple areas. The whole land itself seemed to quake and shiver at the very touch of the electric blasts. With one final concentration, Sheba summoned forth a massive bolt that struck down the centre of the whirlwind and exploded the water beneath them into a boiling geyser of sorts. Feeling not the least bit tired, she chuckled a bit and turned to see the awestruck faces of her audience.

"Well," she said innocently, "what'd you think?"

It took nearly five minutes of amazed silence before Melia finally spoke up. "I… I am glad you are on our side, Sheba."

"Heh, after a display like that, I am too," said a boy's voice from one of the transporters. Sheba froze at the sound. Could it be possible? Was he really…

Slowly she turned around and nearly burst into tears at the sight that her eyes beheld.

"I had no idea you'd gotten so powerful, Sheba," he said, that lovable smirk on his face. "Then again, I haven't really had a chance to test out my own abilities."

She couldn't form a full sentence. All she could do was twitch her jaw as she attempted to say something to the boy in front of her. He was here; he was really, truly here! After what seemed like an eternity of trying to form a sentence while staring at his smirking face, she managed to stutter out a single name.

"I-Ivan?"

* * *

Boom, short chapter but things will probably start picking up once everyone gets together. This story isn't one of my main focuses right now, so that may be why it seems like I'm uninterested in it. I'll be clear that I'm not, I'm just more focused on my main stories, so this one kind of takes a back seat.

Anyway, please review! I know that this story gets a few readers every time I post a new chapter, so leave me your thoughts please! This story might get more attention from me if you guys review ;)

_-GengaJupite_


	5. Mysteries

Heh, this series is never gonna get finished if I keep this update rate up. Sadly, I just don't have the time to focus on everything I've set out for myself. Anyway, I think there's only one or two people who are reading this, so it's not like that matters too much. Oh, and in case you're under the impression that I've completely forgotten about Piers, worry not; he has a much larger role than is probably being expected.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Mysteries_

Stars twinkled from every direction, and the ground was nowhere to be seen. Planets could be seen in the distance, but knowing if they were up, down, left, or right was impossible to determine.

Shulk had been here before, in similar dreams like this one now. But why was this happening? It made all the sense in the world, given that the Monado had returned, and yet that fact still made no sense at all. Of all the times to return, why would it come back now? Did those strangers have something to do with it? Then again, how could they have? Even though he was supposed to be the logical one, Shulk couldn't think of a single reason why this was happening.

"Ah, you are here," announced a voice from no particular direction. Shulk looked around, but could not find the source.

"I know that voice," he muttered, halting after figuring that he wouldn't be able to find the speaker. "Alvis, where are you?"

"Very clever, Shulk," said the voice, "but you know that I no longer exist in my hom form."

Shulk futilely glanced around again, frustration plaguing his mind. "None of this makes sense! If you aren't here, then why is the Monado in existence again? What purpose does it serve in a world without need of it?"

Alvis' voice chuckled, something Shulk had not heard before. "Is it truly so difficult to see the relation between its return and these otherworldly strangers? In fact, if you look hard enough, you might be able to see that they are not so different from yourselves."

"What does that mean?" Shulk shouted, but nothing came in response. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and Shulk allowed his consciousness, or rather lack thereof, to fade even deeper…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"Heh, honestly, boy, why does your heart continue to find its way to me?" the sinister man chuckled as Isaac sat up from the floor of the white room. "This is our second encounter, and yet the time has not yet come in which we truly meet face to face."

Isaac glared at the man, remembering that he would be unable to speak whilst in his current state. On this occasion, the man did not have a hood up, but he stood facing away from the Venus adept, revealing only the back of his bald head. He wore clothes different from the mysterious black robe of their first encounter, but it made no difference how this man was dressed, only that he still sought to cause some kind of harm to Isaac and his friends.

"You seem dissatisfied; is my abode not to your liking?" cackled the man, flexing his gloved hands behind his back. "Or is it that you've been cast into a strange new world? To be frank, your arrival in that world was a mistake on my part. Yes, I was careless in the unlocking of your world, and rather than arriving in my world, you ended up there. However, because your heart seems especially fond of making its way over to me, I've been able to track down this world of yours, and I must say that you have done me a greater favour than I could have hoped for."

Isaac felt his body tense as he prepared to pounce at the man. Elderly or not, anyone that exuded an aura of such malice and malevolence could not be allowed to roam free.

"Don't try it, you witless neophyte." With a twirl of his wrist, a sphere of darkness engulfed the man's hand, causing two identical spheres to appear at Isaac's feet, sealing them to the ground. "Awfully reckless of you to think that merely your heart could even hope to put a scratch on me. Trust me, boy, if I cannot cause you harm when you are not actually here, what drives you to believe that your heart can do anything but listen to me speak?"

Isaac bit his lip and cursed silently at the man before him. The man laughed, apparently knowing exactly what the adept had just done. Just who was this maniacal person? How could he know what Isaac did and thought without actually looking at him? Perhaps he was some kind of powerful mage of sorts.

"I understand that you've been looking for some friends of yours, hmm?" the man stated mischievously. "It seems you've found all but three of them at this point. I must commend you for your work, but it looks as though you'll only find two at your next destination. The other, you ask? Heh, you'll find out soon enough."

Before Isaac could even try to comprehend what that could mean, a dark chasm of that strange, _black_ fire engulfed him, and then everything faded into darkness…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"Oi, I think he's comin' to!" Reyn announced. "Shulk! You alright?"

"W-Where…where am I?" Shulk groaned as he slowly sat up from the table he appeared to be lying on. "What's going on?"

"Relax, Shulk," came a familiar voice from the stairs. "You are on Junks, and we are currently flying to Alcamoth."

From down below, Vanea ascended the steps and walked beside him. Waving her hand over a glowing panel, the medical equipment surrounding Shulk's body flickered off, allowing him to see all around from where he currently was.

Now that everything was visible, he could see Sharla and Fiora both standing slightly behind Reyn. The three of them all smiled, causing him to return the expression to them; however, his smile melted once he fully processed Vanea's words.

"Alcamoth?! Why are we going there? Urg, what happened to me?" He glanced around again before adding, "And where are all the others?"

"Take it easy, man," Reyn calmed him. "Everyone else is downstairs with Miqol and Isaac."

"Isaac?" Where had he heard that name? Was he one of the strangers? "Are those newcomers with us as well?"

"Yes," Sharla said from behind Reyn, "but for now we're keeping you and them in separate areas. I'll admit, you gave us all quite the scare when the Monado zapped you."

"So that did happen…" Shulk mumbled, lying himself back down. "Why do they have to be separated from me?"

The three of them gave each other odd glances before turning back to him. Shulk looked to Vanea, but she had not yet been filled in on the situation either, so she could provide him with none of the answers he sought. Glancing back at the others, he watched as Fiora let out a sigh and thought out the most sensible way of wording it.

"Shulk…when we were back in your lab… It's… As soon as that Isaac person walked in, the Monado you'd been hiding from us suddenly reacted and sent out bolts that knocked you both out."

"What?!" Shulk gasped in disbelief. "But…that's impossible, I wasn't controlling it!"

"Hey, no one expected you to know what was going on," Reyn reassured him. "We figured that you wouldn't even know why the Monado's back anyhow."

Shulk sighed and closed his eyes, trying to decipher all that Alvis had said to him in his dream. "You've got that right, Reyn. It actually reappeared about a month ago; I found it lying in the water like a common piece of scrap."

"No kidding," Reyn breathed out, having a tough time comprehending how no one else would have seen it just sitting there.

"I want to see the others," Shulk stated suddenly, earning gasps from his three homs companions. "I need to speak with them right away."

"Shulk, wait!" Fiora cried as he started to sit up again. "It's too risky; you might get knocked out again!"

Shulk ignored her, however, and got to his feet, lightly brushing past her. "No, I should be fine. You said it was the Monado that took both of us out, so as long as you didn't keep it with them I should be fine going to them. You didn't keep it with them, did you?"

"No," Vanea answered for them. "Dunban placed it in the storage hold to keep it away from you."

"Perfect, I'll be off then," he nodded and left before anyone could object.

Traversing his way through the small ship, Shulk looked around to see where the others might be at the present. There weren't many rooms within Junks, and he'd never really had any reason to explore them before; as such, he had no idea of knowing which ones led to what. Luckily he spotted Dunban and Felix exiting one of the rooms. The two of them instantly took notice of Shulk and stepped towards him.

"Ah, Shulk, you're feeling better I presume?" Dunban asked, earning a nod from the young engineer. "Excellent! Did you need anything from us?"

"Actually," he said slowly, shifting on his heels a bit, "I was hoping I might have a word with Felix and the others."

Dunban and Felix blinked and glanced at each other before turning back towards Shulk. "You wanted to speak with me?" Felix asked, clearly puzzled that Shulk would not being seeking answers from his own companions. "I mean, I don't mind, but I'm not sure how much help we'll be, and Isaac still hasn't woken up yet."

"That's fine," Shulk answered calmly. "There's just a couple things I need to discuss with the lot of you."

Shrugging, Felix and Dunban turned back towards the room they'd just come from and gestured for Shulk to follow after. Complying, he tailed behind them into a well-lit room that appeared to be for taking breaks. The adepts all sat around on chairs and such, chatting away while Isaac lay unconscious on a couch in the corner. Everyone looked up at the entry of the three men, curious as to why Felix and Dunban had come back in so soon and if Shulk was all right.

"Hello, everyone," Shulk greeted. "I was hoping you might have some time to spare so that we could discuss something."

The Weyardians glanced around at each other, to Isaac's unconscious body, and back to Shulk. "Not like there's a whole lot to do around here," Garet answered brusquely, shrugging as he did so. "What's up?"

"Thanks," Shulk breathed out, taking a seat. "I know you aren't really sure of the reasons you ended up in our world, so I won't bother asking about that. I'd simply like to know more about all of you."

Everyone in the room cast him a puzzled look, clearly not understanding the reasoning behind his quest for knowledge. In truth, Shulk wasn't completely sure what learning about them might reveal, but Alvis's words still rung clearly in his mind.

"_They are not so different from yourselves…"_

What learning about their lives would do, Shulk knew not, but it wouldn't exactly hinder him to know more about his companions in case the information proved irrelevant to solving the mysteries of the Monado. While he was most interested in finding out about Isaac, he would have to wait to hear a first-person account from the spiky-haired adventurer. For now, hearing about the others would suffice.

"Well," Jenna began after the elongated silence, "we were originally a group of eight, but we've since been separated from three of the others."

The adepts then went on to explain their entire adventure in detail, also speaking a bit about their lives before the ordeal. Dunban made a comment or two every now and then, but Shulk remained silent for the entire tale, his expression unchanging. When they finally managed to conclude their tale with being swept over the edge of their world, Shulk finally sat up straight and collected his thoughts.

"Well, Shulk, have you heard everything you wanted?" Dunban questioned to his hom companion. "If it's alright for me to ask, why did you need to hear about their adventure?"

Shulk said nothing for a moment, only taking a deep breath before finally opening his mouth to speak. "It was…in my dream…"

"Your dream?" asked Mia, stepping over towards Isaac.

"Yes. Dunban, while I was unconscious, I dreamt that I was floating in space again, and Alvis spoke to me."

"Alvis spoke to you? You told me about how that had happened a number of times after Zanza extracted himself from you, but what does that have to do with this?"

"I'm not completely sure," Shulk deadpanned, shaking his head slightly. "In the dream, Alvis told me that the Monado's return was somehow related to these two world being connected. Then he told me that if I looked hard enough, I'd see that all of you," he gestured to the adepts, "were not so different from us here on Bionis."

There was a pause, and the only sounds in the room were the whirring of the ships engines and the light breaths from each person. Eventually, though, Garet spoke up. "So…what exactly did you find out? Or did you not draw any conclusions?"

"Well…" Shulk began, though he was unsatisfied with his findings, "really the only thing I could figure out was that some of you _do_ seem very alike to us, but on varying levels. I'm not sure that it tells me anything about the Monado, but it does seem odd how similar you and Reyn are, as well as Dunban and Felix, and from the sounds of it, your friend Sheba and Melia. In a lesser sense, I could also see some similarities between Isaac and I, Jenna and Fiora, and Sharla and Mia. The thing is, though, if we all have these oddly similar links to each other, why did the Monado choose only to shock Isaac and I?"

"Because of our hearts."

Everyone jumped in surprise at the groggy voice. Quickly turning their heads in the direction it came from, they watched as Isaac rubbed at his eyes and slowly sat up.

"Isaac!" a few of the adepts shouted. "Are you all right?!"

"I'm fine, guys," he answered, seemingly unhurt and simply tired, though he grunted as Mia quickly engulfed him in a worried hug. "I actually heard everything from when you were wrapping up our journey."

"What did you mean by that?" Shulk interjected before anyone could say anything else. "Our hearts…"

"I… To be honest, I'm not sure," he answered looking down at his open palms. "I fell into another strange dream, just like the one that got us wound up here in the first place. This suspicious guy keeps showing up and talking to me, but I can never say anything back to him. He says it's because only my heart ever reaches him, and without a body I guess a heart can't really do much more than spectate."

Shulk paused again, ignoring the chattering of his companions while he pondered away. How curious it was that both he and Isaac seemed to fall into mysterious dreamscapes in which characters with unknown motives would speak to them. It seemed much more than coincidental that this was occurring, and yet it still provided nothing in terms of answers. Shulk clenched his fists in frustration, hoping to find the answers by asking further.

"Isaac," he said, halting the conversation said person was having with Mia, "are you saying that the two of us are somehow connected?"

"I can't imagine why this Monado thing would have taken out both of us if we weren't," he answered flatly.

"True," Shulk sighed, "but what connection could we possibly have? We both embarked on incredibly dangerous missions, but they were completely different in the end. You were working to halt the destruction of your world, while we were working to destroy the one we knew for a better and brighter future."

Isaac shrugged; he honestly wasn't too concerned with that whole ordeal at the moment. The main problem right now was figuring out where the other Weyardians were and how they were supposed to get home. He had hoped it would be as simple as dropping off the edge of the world again, but apparently this world didn't have an edge.

"I'm going to examine the Monado some more," Shulk said sullenly, standing from his seat. No one expected what would happen next though.

"I'll go with you," Isaac said, earning gasps all around.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Dunban stated, seemingly the calmest (though clearly still shocked) of the group. "It isn't unlikely that the two of you could be knocked out again."

"I have some questions that need answering myself," Isaac retorted bluntly, shakily standing from the sofa. "I have to see this thing."

"But, Isaac, it's too risky!" Jenna pleaded. "The two of you were unconscious for hours!"

"It doesn't sound like a smart idea," Felix added.

"C'mon, man, think about what you're doing for a sec," Garet chimed in as well.

"Isaac…please be reasonable," Mia murmured quietly beside him.

It seemed as though no one was willing to allow both of them to examine the Monado together. He had never been one to give up in difficult situations, but at this point the Venus adept didn't know what else he could do. However, as he was about to take his seat, one more voice sounded out.

"I think he should come."

Once again, everyone gasped, but turned their gazes towards Shulk this time. The engineer ignored all the flabbergasted looks, focusing only on Isaac as the two of them stared at each other. Beckoning with only a single arm wave, Shulk turned and exited the room, Isaac following shortly after, as no one could comprehend the logic behind their leaders.

As they stepped towards the room across the hall, Isaac began to wonder why Shulk had agreed, especially since he seemed to be one of the more rational people. Figuring that he should say something before they entered the room, potentially to be knocked out again, Isaac spoke up.

"Shulk," he mumbled when they stood before the doorway, "thanks for that; but why did you agree? I thought you'd be the first to object."

Shulk let out a single breathy chuckle and turned his head towards Isaac. "Would you believe me if I said I was acting on impulse? This is probably one of the more illogical decisions I've made, but something about your resolve made me wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to let you come along. Worst-case scenario, we get bolted again and end up with a few extra hours of sleep. That doesn't sound so bad, does it?"

Isaac chuckled at Shulk's morbidly positive outlook on the situation, and the two of them stepped through the threshold leading into the storage hold.

Considering its rarity and dangerous nature, it didn't appear as though Dunban had attempted to conceal the Monado with more than just the sheet. The glowing, neon blue blade rested atop a few boxes near the back of the area, and the two teens breathed out in relief at the fact that it hadn't reacted to their proximity. Still, it was always a good idea to be cautious, so the two stepped gingerly towards the ether-manipulating sword until they were literally looking down at it in front of their abdomens.

"Is it…safe to touch?" Isaac asked, hovering his hand overtop of the handle.

"Not for others," Shulk answered, but he brought a hand to his chin as he watched the blade quiver slightly. "However, if we're somehow connected…it might actually respond positively to you."

Isaac glanced nervously at Shulk and back down at the quivering blade. Truthfully, he'd been having the same idea as the Monado-wielder, but he was afraid of what might happen if he couldn't harness its power. He couldn't be sure, but he swore at some point he'd heard that Dunban had lost the use of his right arm because he couldn't control its sheer power.

"Should I attempt it?" Isaac asked, though it was more of a question to himself.

"You came in here seeking answers, didn't you?" Shulk coaxed. "I don't know what this might prove, but I, too, would like to see what happens."

Taking a deep breath and mustering his courage, Isaac tightly shut his eyes and lowered his hand to grip around the handle.

Almost instantly, the Monado whirred into action, and the sheet that once concealed it flew off as the blade shot upwards in Isaac's grip. Shulk jumped back a bit, but stared in amazement when a pure, golden light seemed to emanate from the blade's once-blue colouration. As if a windstorm was blowing through the storage hold, loose items whipped around the room at an unfathomable velocity. The lights flickered in response to the power of the activated blade, but Isaac stood strong in the centre of it all. A few bursting sounds that commonly went off when the blade expanded itself sounded, and Shulk's heart leapt in excitement as the symbol within the True Monado changed to one he had not seen before: 日.

Meanwhile, Isaac was trying his best not to panic, but the intense amount of power surging from the weapon into his body was something he'd never known before. It literally felt as though raw energy flowed freely from the weapon, running up his arms and into his body. He was brimming with power, yet that knowledge frightened him more than it empowered him. With all the might he could muster (which was quite a bit in his current state), Isaac released the blade, watching as it clattered to the ground and returned to its neon blue hue near-instantaneously. Panting heavily, the Venus adept fell to the ground, propping himself on his elbows as he stared at the mysterious weapon.

"Is everyone alright?!" Felix's voice barked from the doorway as he, Dunban, and a few others crowded inside.

Shulk and Isaac glanced at each other, respectively in awe and shock from what just happened before they slowly turned their heads back to the group. "Everything's fine," Shulk panted. "It looks like Fiora and I aren't the only ones who can wield Monados, though."

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"I still can't believe you're here!" Sheba cried happily while squeezing Ivan.

"I'm just happy to see a familiar face," Ivan chuckled, returning the embrace, "though the fact that it's you, Sheba, only makes me happier."

She blushed evidently, but continued to smile, relieved to know that she had not imagined the two Jupiter adepts admitting their feelings before toppling over the edge of Gaia Falls.

Meanwhile, Riki was busy hopping around in front of Melia. "Melly!" he chanted. "Riki make new hom-hom friend in Makna Forest! Take him to Dunga to hear prophecy before coming here! Oh, Riki so happy to see Melly again!"

"I am glad to see you as well, Riki," Melia chuckled before stepping towards the wind users. "Sheba, is this one of the people of whom you were searching for?"

"Yes, this is my…erm, very good friend, Ivan," Sheba responded, separating herself from him. "Though it looks as though he's the only one here."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss…" said Ivan.

"Melia Antiqua, Empress of Alcamoth and the high entia," she stated proudly.

At the mention of her somewhat lengthy title, Ivan's eyes shot wide open, and he was down on one knee in an instant, his head bowed downwards. "F-Forgive me, your grace! Had I known you were royalty, I would not have presented myself in such an unkempt manner!"

Melia smiled down at him; whomever these people were, they certainly treated their royalty with the utmost respect. Glancing over at Sheba, Melia nodded slightly to indicate that she could stand her companion up. Giggling, Sheba knelt down to help Ivan to his feet.

"Heehee, no need to be so formal, Ivan," Sheba explained to her humbled companion. "Melia says it's alright to speak to her normally, and to treat her no differently than we would a friend. Apparently she's more accustomed to it anyway."

"Oh, uh, hehe," Ivan chuckled dumbly, scratching the back of his head and grinning. "I guess you haven't seen any of the others either, have you?"

"No, in fact, I was hoping to go search for them soon. I…I'm scared, Ivan… I have no idea what's going on, or where we are."

"Don't worry, we'll find them."

"Ahem, excuse my interruption," Melia coughed, regaining their attention, "but perhaps it would be best if we returned into the city. The two of you are free to roam about, and may enter the palace as you please. I will have a message sent out to all my ships abroad if they have heard word of strangers such as yourselves."

"Thank you," they both breathed out, bowing slightly despite Melia's wishes. Happily reunited, Melia, Riki, Ivan, and Sheba all entered the central transporter and teleported into the city.

Sheba and Ivan paced themselves around the amazingly technological city, taking in all the fantastic sights and wonders of which they could never have imagined in their own world. Even the people of Alcamoth left them in awe, with their futuristic clothing and the wings that protruded from their heads. Both of the young teens wanted to see everything they could in this futuristic wonderland, and yet they had to make sure they took in every sight to their fullest. Though their current situation may have been bleak, it was rare that such a moment like this would ever present itself in their lives again.

As the sun began to set on the horizon, they walked around the upper edge that circled the dome. Taking a seat in one of the small seating areas that faced Eryth Sea, they chatted on about all the things they had seen and experienced since coming to this strange world. Sheba seemed to have trouble understanding that beneath the glowing waters of the sea was a massive tree and an entire jungle, while Ivan was still trying to figure out how the islands around this area could float in midair.

The two adepts became so engrossed in their conversation and infatuation with one another that they hardly gave a passing glance to the large, mechon ship docking to let off a diverse group of Weyard-familiar and Bionis-familiar people.

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

Dripping water, a cold stone surface, and an unsettling chill in the air. A stagnant smell filled his nostrils, and he opened his golden eyes to see what he could see. Unfortunately, the room was much too dark, and he found that his head was throbbing in pain.

Piers wriggled in the spot, only to find that his hands were bound behind his back, and he was seated in what appeared to be some sort of dungeon. Suddenly, and without warning, the room's lights suddenly turned on, and the Lemurian squeezed his eyes back shut from the blindingly white walls surrounding him. Slowly allowing his eyes to adjust, he looked back around.

He had no idea where he was or if there was anyone else around. In truth, there wasn't much to see, as everything was white and he appeared to be seated on the only chair in the centre of the room. Despite this fact, the chair seemed much more uncomfortable than the ground appeared to be.

A quick sliding sound caught his attention, and he looked forward to see the shadowy silhouette of a person standing in the newly appeared doorway.

"Who's there?!" Piers croaked; it felt and sounded as though he hadn't used his voice in days.

The person laughed snidely, and Piers could see the set of white teeth from the stranger's sinister smile. "Why, if it isn't Piers the Lemurian. I must say I didn't expect to see you again."

Piers gasped when he heard the voice. Though he'd only heard it once or twice before, he recognized who the man before him was instantly. "What do you want with me?" he growled, struggling against his bonds.

"What _I_ want? Absolutely nothing, friend," the man mocked, twirling his hand in a thespian manner. "Well, I suppose that's not entirely true. This me has no current need of you; however, another me feels it's necessary to, how shall I put it…_unlock_ you. Actually, this appears to be more confusing than I thought it might be to explain. Really, there is no you or me, but only one him, split into two to create the two of us in a world that is not his own. We are him, and yet we've become us as well. It's a rather humourous situation, don't you think?"

"Stop playing games with me; what are you talking about?!"

"Heh, all in due time, dear boy," sneered a different, elderly voice. Piers watched as a hunched silhouette appeared in the doorway beside the other one. "You will learn the answers very soon, and when that happens you will be more than willing to perform your duty."

"Perform…my duty?" he muttered to himself.

"Yes, now, accept this from me, won't you?" the other man cackled.

Before Piers could even wonder what that meant, a ball of dark energy flew from the hunched man's gloved hand and straight into the Lemurian's chest. He gasped out as a suffocating feeling overtook his lungs, and suddenly everything faded away…

* * *

There, now you know that I didn't forget about Piers :P. Yay, the gang's gonna be together pretty soon, and now that I've actually started unraveling things, the plot should get a bit more interesting! I know I don't update this nearly as often as I should, but I'm excited for the upcoming events :)

Please review!

_-GengaJupite_


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